Bread Krums
by Sparkien
Summary: It had been one thing after the other, like a trail of crumbs for her to follow, as if leading her to something meant for only her. Something she could have to herself without the risk of sharing this time.
1. Eye to Eye

**Title:** Bread Krums

 **Description** : It had been one thing after the other, like a trail of crumbs for her to follow, as if leading her to something meant for only her. Something she could have to herself without the risk of sharing.

 **Words:** 3,853

 **A/N:** This is going to be centered around Hermione and there will be a few changes to the canon plot. It's been a while since I've done a multi-chapter fic so we'll see how well this goes. And obviously Krumione is the designed endgame though, haha.

* * *

 _Chapter i – Eye to Eye_

 _oh my, oh my, this is only the beginning child_

* * *

The first real thought Hermione had after being transported to the Quidditch World Cup was 'Never Again.'

This stagnant thought only occurred after pushing the palm of her hand into the lower portion of her back in hopes to work out the kink that would surely form within the next day or so. She had landed on her back with a _thud_ , the inside of her head swirling about till it slowly sorted itself out.

The portkey had been revealed to be trashy, brown boot with an absurd amount of holes that would forever prevent its intended use. Nevertheless, there had been no qualms by any from the group after being told to lay _at least_ one finger upon it so they would not be left behind.

Now a bit more collected, despite the feelings of an uneasy stomach, she almost had the idea to refute using a portkey the next time the opportunity sprung itself…which unfortunately would be when this event ended and they were to travel back home.

Suppressing her thoughts of the inevitable she took the chance to look around. Almost everyone else in the group was on the ground as well surely feeling the effects of using the portkey but seeing three casting shadows slowly appear closer and closer she glanced upwards to see Mr. Weasley, Cedric, and his father slowly descending from the sky.

Hermione understood that all three wizards had used the system before and probably on various occasions that she would never know of. She gave her jeans a good dust before she realized the weight of her bag was no longer there. Scanning the area around her she found it a mere two feet away for which she was silently thankful it had not disappeared off somewhere else completely.

Noticing everyone had begun to get up and move alone the field she followed suit, having swallowed the rising feeling of bile in the pits of her stomach. Though she was still uneasy, her stomach had definitely calmed itself compared to moments before when they had first landed.

The wizarding world took their quidditch quite seriously and for an occasion as big as this she had expected no less when she saw the multitude of tents and colored banners. She trailed the rest as if they were playing a game of _follow the leader_ , sifting past people in hopes of not getting lost from her friends.

Before she knew it they had gotten to tenting area but she had no excuse when she had stopped abruptly to stare at it. It was a quite on the…smaller side but as she watched person after person enter the tent she knew her curiosity had peaked. Harry had the same startling look on his face so she had decided to enter before him.

The saying went that you should not judge a book by its cover and Hermione believed this to be true ninety-nine percent of the time, the other one percent were set aside for special circumstance she told herself many times. This case had been no different.

Though raggedy and dreary looking on the outside it was absolutely magnificent on the inside, for her at least. How had they packed all this into such a tiny tent made for two, maybe three if you squeezed together uncomfortably? She decided to make a vow to herself to learn the concept behind such a feat at the earliest convenience.

Not having time to get lost in her thoughts she had overheard Ron's father telling them all to find a bunk. She found Ginny off to the side where two beds were located. Placing her bag on the edge of the bed she found herself sitting on the bed in no time with a pillow propped behind her back. A sigh had accompanied before she could set up to stop it from happening.

"You good Hermione?" Ginny who had already set all her things aside had decided to lounge on the bed as well. She turned her head, looking to Hermione questionably, wondering if there was something serious on her friend's mind or it was something to overlook.

"Yes I'm quite fine. Still a little disoriented from the portkey I suppose. I had right nasty feeling when we had to let go," Hermione squinted, wondering to herself if that were the true answer, "Really though, there's just this nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach."

She tugged on her dark, wavy hair feeling the familiar twinge of pain that accompanied knots.

"Yeah, my stomach sure did a number from it though I'm feeling far better now. Drink some water, it should help, no?" Ginny eyed Hermione's fruitless effort of using her fingers as a makeshift brush. The younger girl rolled eyes and began to dig in her bag with a sudden _aha_. She pulled a soft mint-colored brush from the bag and chucked it at Hermione

"Here, you're gonna knot your hair up a thousand times worse if you keep doing that." Ginny's tone was truly worthy of reprimanding but still very much caring sounding. Hermione had rolled her eyes in response but there was a small though barely pained soundings _thanks._

She spent what felt like the next ten minutes getting rid of disgustingly tight knots from her hair and another two to brush through her hair completely pain free. Satisfied that her hair looked a bit tamer, she eyed the nearest garbage to get rid of all the hair she had lost due to this. How could she lose _that much_ and still have a bushy head of hair to go around? It would always be a mystery to her.

After returning the brush to its original compartment she glanced at the fruit bowl in the makeshift. The apple looked quite tempting at this point. Grabbing it to satisfy her minor hunger pains, she savored the sweet flavoring from the first bite.

Before she could sit down she heard the mumblings between Harry and Ron growing louder. They walked near her with quite the bored expression on their faces.

"We're going walk around, wanna join?" Harry pipped up when he got close enough, though his voice was slightly hushed. She had realized at first but upon looking around she noticed Ginny had drifted off into a nap. She could not find a trace of the twins either and eagerly agreed.

* * *

Their walk around the camping sites had been nothing short of thrilling for Hermione. Her home life, while she enjoyed the peace and stability of it, was rather on the boring side. The extended invitation for her to join in with the Weasley family when they were given tickets to the Quidditch World Cup had made her happy and currently she held zero regrets for accepting.

She had seen many familiar faces and they'd even ventured to see what the Bulgarians had decorated their tents and flag poles with. When she first noticed, and even informed of who, was donning on many tents she felt a bit unnerved.

Viktor Krum, in his slightly surly looking expression, seemed to be quite the unique character to her. The little voice in her head questioned what made this person so sought after but who was she to judge? Regardless, she felt rather annoyed by being there and was _almost_ glad that had to get back in time to find their seats.

Remembering her, albeit very short, steep climb on Stoatshead Hill it seemed like nothing compared to the flights of stairs they were meant to climb. They had been given seats that, while could have been better, were not the worst. She was grateful to begin with that someone had been generous enough to grant any of them tickets.

The noise level was almost unbearable at points as people waited for the game to start and only soared when the teams had been introduced. She used the omnioculars when the players came onto the field so that she could at least _attempt_ to remember who was playing.

When this Krum player flew onto the field she found her stare towards him lingering. While she did not think he was overly debonair looking, it seemed the picture that had been used when she saw the posters early did not do him justice. Perhaps they just reused something older she had thought though this bit did not linger long in her mind.

His hair, shortly cut, was darkly colored and she presumed it was a shade of black. It seemed his eyes, especially with the empowered look he currently held, matched though she was unsure if this was a trick of the light.

Lowering the omnioculars she glanced between Ron and Harry who were already engrossed as the match began. She simply shook her head with a smile.

It had been quite a match so far in Hermione's eyes. There had been a fake out from Bulgarian's seeker, Viktor Krum, leading that maneuver with a Wonky, _no Wronksi_ she reminded herself as she thought of Ron's reprimand that happened earlier, Wronski Feint where had tricked Lynch into crashing against the ground. It seemed he was quite good playing his part of the seeker, not that anything would have suggested otherwise.

There had been a few fouls on Bulgaria's part as well casting them behind in score. However, what she had not been expecting in the next few moments was for a bludger to hit the Bulgarian seeker square in the face and continue playing at that, consciously making quick decisions.

She had been using her omnioculars again to keep up and see everything a bit better. Both seekers were in a dive this time and she cringed at the blood dripping and spewing everywhere from Krum's nose. His nose was quite a sight to behold in the awkward shape it now sported.

In a split second it seemed Krum had caught the snitch and led Lynch into crashing again. Her eyes widened when Harry spoke with the realization that the seeker knew they would always be behind on points, which led to him ending the game before it became more of an embarrassment for the team.

"He was very brave, wasn't he?" Hermione spoke softly still very attentive of the mediwizards on the field attempting to attend to the injured Bulgarian. In her own mind it had seemed an admirable thing that he had continue playing despite the horrendous injury he had received and was able to end the games more-so on his own terms.

After the Irish team had gone up and received their trophy, something she eagerly cheered at, she watched as their opponents had gone up for obligatory congratulations despite their loss. Even though she was not big on the game of quidditch she felt they had done quite a job.

When Krum walked up she slightly blanched as his messy face. Two black eyes and still covered in blood? This person was sure something to behold.

* * *

Hermione had been resting on the bed she had picked out early when a loud bang stirred her. It was not until the third series of echoing explosions and a series of screams had her eyes shot open. The tent was not particularly lit brightly as there was just a banging lamp to light the tent adequately.

In the moments she took for her eyes to adjust, it was easy to tell Ginny had been up a little bit before her. Concern flashed over her eyes as her younger friend seemed to be uneasy. She had heard Ginny mumbling about her dad had gone out of the tent to see what on earth was causing the 'celebrations' to become to boisterous and had yet to come back.

Hermione frowned at this. Pondering if some of the older teenagers had really just gotten out hand her gut felt otherwise. _And there was that horrid set of screams._

Ripped out of her thoughts when Mr. Weasley had reentered the tent looking quite blanched. He had ordered the boys, mainly the twins who had be goading Ron, to settle down. Everyone in the tent became quite serious at that point as the sounds of foreboding terror had gotten louder and clearer. They were far too close sounding for comfort.

"We need to leave now. Everything will be better explained later but stick together as best you can. Into the woods and _stay there_ until I come back for you, do you hear me?" Mr. Weasley's words were quick to their ears and his tone was nothing short of authoritative.

Their entire group, ushered out by the father figure, had started out of the tent together but it was quickly noted that they would not be that way for long. It was an entire mess outside of the tent. Flames were lighting up the area well enough for them to see far ahead. Unfortunately the flames were the result of _whoever_ had decided to begin terrorizing the area.

Wizards and Witches were running amuck in order to avoid being singled out into harm's way. They had done their best to avoid the touchy, glistening flames and stick as one but it seemed Hermione's luck had run out for this bit. George and Fred had gotten farther ahead with Ron trailing closely behind them with his hand securely attached to Ginny's allowing for her not to be left to her own.

Hermione had be pushed into by a passing person who seemed to be in their own world while they fled. As soon as she regained her bearings it had happened again and once more after that. She was sure she would have a horrendous bruise on the front of her shoulder come the next morning. This was not plaguing her thoughts, however, as she watched the four of her friends flee further out of sight.

Calling their names had been futile as hard as she tried, the roar of terror encompassing her meager voice. She leaned against the pole of one tent that had yet to be torched in ash and smoke and proceeded to look behind her.

 _Harry was nowhere to be seen and that scared her the most._

Instead of finding Harry she could see in the nearby distance a group marching in an organized way sending out spells that lit the area momentarily before striking the intended targets. They wore strange masks and their hoods towered far above their heads.

She could see them breaking up into groups and she knew at that point she needed to get away especially when she heard the whispers ' _They're looking for muggle-borns, hurry out of the way before a Death Eater catches us!'_

Remembering that her destination was supposed to be in the forest area she found herself momentarily conflicted. As she dodged incoming people who were running away she wondered if it would do her any good to look for Harry. But what if Harry had already made it out with the rest and she was out here in the open by herself.

She continued on towards the forest in slight conflict, being dragged further by a group of wizards who seemed to be in no position to care about the well being of her. Still, Hermione glanced around as much as possible in hopes of seeing her friend.

For a split moment all seemed at peace, she was able to start heading in the direction of the forest and the rushing group of people that had been knocking against her had fled elsewhere. She swore she could hear the casting of _stupefy…_

When she felt something akin to an electric shock pulsate through her body it caused her to trip over her own feet and tumble downwards. Landing on her back she caught the vague silhouette of what she assumed was a Death Eater striding towards Hermione before she vision failed and she blacked out.

* * *

Hermione felt like she had been asleep but in the way where one slept nine hours but felt as if only five seconds had passed. She had awoken in a way that was almost instant, her eyes not bother to flutter open gracefully. Her brain was scrambled as she did her best to back away using the palm of her hand as if she were mocking a crab. There was a new presence in the air and it was as equally unfamiliar to that of the death eater who had was face down on the ground many feet away. Having done her best to ignore the throbbing sensation in her head she stared at the stranger warily.

"Get up, please. Dis not where you want to be right now." The voice was deep and intense at the moment but not seemingly not threatening. She stared at him, she thought him because of the person's build which was stockier even with his height, warily before obliging carefully.

Upon standing she grasp for her wand before realizing in distraught that she had put it in her bag. The bag that Ginny, who was nowhere in sight, had. Mentally cursing herself she looked around guardedly.

"We must move before mor-" The mystery person, donning a deep maroon cloak that did not reach the ground with its hood up, was interrupted as he heard a bristle in the bush near them. He stared at the area a moment too long in a stupid fashion before he realized there was an incoming assailant from the other side.

"Ava-" This Death Eater meant no games as he started to speak the beginnings of an unforgiveable curse but within a split second reaction from the rescuer he did not finish.

" _Expelliarmus!_ " The charm was a quickly spoken response from him and was immediately followed by his own version of _stupefy._ Despite not having her wand and unsure of what help she would be Hermione still had herself in a defensive position. She certainly did not want to be knocked out on the ground cold like before, it would been quite the embarrassment.

The second death eater laid strewn on the ground in a position she had deemed quite ungraceful but she did not allow her thoughts to run away on her yet. She was in a far more dangerous position than she had originally though despite her stroke of good luck.

"You are…uhkay?" Hermione could not really see much of the person who was talking to her. The hood upon his head covered most of his face. She could see the remnants of blood which she chalked up to fighting others before he had gotten to her.

"Uh, yes!" She blurted out still concerned about their surroundings which was painfully obvious by the way she continued to look around her. She could see the lining of the forest and figured if she could at least get there it would not be an issue to find the others.

"Good, good. Where you trying to go? Da forest?" The questioning tone continued, though the last bit seemed to be lighter when he spoke.

"Mhm…" She frowned mentally, should she be telling him anything? Despite the fact it seemed he had come to her rescue she was severely mistrusting in the situation which was understandable.

"You are…what is word? You are concerned…no…wary! You are wary I see." He seemed to be struggling to find the right words, it was painfully obvious to her that English was not his native language despite how much he had conversed with it. It made no difference to her as she already had this thought earlier upon hearing his accent and the way he went about enunciating.

"You catch on quick. I should probably go now, the people I'm waiting on are probably there and worried." She replied dryly at first but swiftly corrected her tone. She did not need to be acting like this right now, she was much more mature than that.

"Dah, dah. Come, we go quickly. I will make sure d'ere are no more Deat' Eaters lurking." He motion for her to follow and she quickly met his pace. He did not seem to be proficient with his walking capability but it did not seem to hinder him.

Soon enough they were at the forest line, the trees which were seldom at first, had quickly filtered into a tight thickness that would surely lose any foe. They had stopped here and Hermione turned to face the person who had been escorting her

"May I know of your name?" Hermione asked earnestly, her eyes seeming to grow larger with curiosity, though she bit her lip afterwards while waiting.

"Name not important. More important d'at you find friends. Dah? You are good from here?" He waited for an answer, not bothering to budge an inch until she complied.

"Yes I suppose. I suppose I must thank you, you really saved my hide back there." Hermione spoke to him with much truth though still a lingering hint of guardedness. He bowed his head lowly, an odd thing to do she thought, before mumbling a word or so that she could not make out before beginning to walk in a new direction. As she moved towards the inner workings of the forest she turned again to look in the direction the mysterious person had ventured to and could only see someone flying off on a broom shrinking further and further the farther they went.

It took her a good ten minutes before she met up with Ron and Harry again who looked to be quite startled. Their matching looks of worry did not melt when they informed her of what Malfoy had said about them looking for muggle-borns, albeit a much nice version of his true word choices. She attempted to settle their nerves that she was quite fine and even promised to tell them of the story of how she managed to turn up unscathed.

Their reunion had been interrupted with an oozing green ray of light filtered through the trees. They walked closer towards the area where it had chosen to emit from. It was high in the sky from the looks of it and Hermione gasped upon her first, full look at it.

"That's the dark mark…" She visibly paled at seeing this, casting a glance to both Ron and Harry, but the latter did not seem as concerned, "You are familiar with it right?"

"I'm not entirely sure what's been going on since we were booted out the tent Hermione. I'm barely thinking straight alright!" Harry spoke quite annoyed, not having meant to sound so harsh towards his friend.

"Well this is serious! Where's Ron's father at? Have either of you seen him?" Hermione spoke in a hushed tone, and while slightly hurt at the tone Harry had used she would not hold it against him. She could see he was high alert just like her. Speak of the devil, Mr. Weasley popped out of a thicket with Ginny, Fred, and George in tow. They seemed to be fine though a little dirty.

"Come on kids, we best hurry out of here to the other portkey. Quickly now." He had ushered all six quickly, now was no time to be playing games.

* * *

 _As usual, reviews are always wanted and welcome!_


	2. Rudimentary

**Words:** 4,353

 **A/N:** _First off,_ thank you to those who reviewed the first chapter and added the story to the alert list! Means a lot to me that there are already people who are liking the story.

Also, I'm going to switch moody's dark art's class to AFTER the other schools arrive instead of having it near the start of semester. I'm also gonna warn you guys now, this story will probably be a more mellowed version compared to some of the fanfics out there! I hope that you guys will still be interested to read because I do hope(and plan) to bring out emotion and interest but through different ways!

* * *

 _Chapter ii - Rudimentary_

 _are you in awe? are you inspired? are you so far gone that you'll never be the same?_

* * *

Three days had gone by before Hermione dared to speak of what happened to her the night of the Quidditch World Cup. The truth was that she was scared. The night in question had been quite a rush for her; there simply had been no time for her to weave through her thoughts on what she had been through.

This was the very reason Hermione had sought out most of her knowledge through books. If she busied herself with the words of others then she would not have time for her own. People teased her for her adorations of the written word but she truly did love to read and to be knowledgeable. It was just a coincidence that this allowed her to escape her realities at times.

Hermione preferred to say that she was worried over saying she was scared; Gryffindors were never scared. What did the attack mean for her? Or for Harry? The pulsating green mark in the sky had been no prank, it was the real deal.

She pushed these particular thoughts out of her mind she made her way into the living room where Ginny, Harry, and Ron were at. They were stumped by what she had revealed to them the other night and inherently curious, well Ginny was at least, particularly about who had been there to save her. Ron mostly grumbled at this aspect and she could not fathom the simplest reason why which was starting to bug her.

"Oh Hermione, there you are!" Ginny cheerfully acknowledged her, patting the seat on the couch next to her invitingly. Hermione wasted no time in taking a seat, craning her neck to see what they were working on. Harry caught on to her questioning look right after Ginny.

"Working on last minute supplies for school." Ginny chimed in, linking arms with Hermione. Out of the corner of her eye she had sent Ron a deviously aimed look.

"Er..." Harry's face burned in embarrassment as he tried to find an excuse with no such luck. He raised one hand to scratch the back of his head sheepishly instead.

"You two told me that was done days ago!" Hermione frowned at the two, her arms folded together disapprovingly after she had removed one from Ginny's grasp.

"Well…we were going to and then things just got in the way. What matters is we have all the stuff now, right 'mione?" Ron interjected with a harsh breath, leave it to his sister to rat out him and Harry. He was in no mood to hear one of his friend's lectures. They were leaving for Hogwarts tomorrow and despite the recent events he did not want what was left of his happy mood to be dampened.

Surprisingly enough all he received was a reverberated _tsk_ from Hermione. He was not one to second guess when he was let off easy and made no notion of questioning her sullenness. If need be he would figure out what she was troubled by later.

* * *

The journey to Hogwarts was calming to Hermione…at least to a certain extent. It was never a smooth ride, after all it was the Hogwarts Express and as a train there were certainly bumps in the tracks here and there. The cricketing as they progressed through the familiar tracks was so soothing because it kept her attention, she feared if the ride had been too quiet she would digress farther into her thoughts and who knew what was in her mind.

"I'll be back." She said shortly, relieving herself of being in the compartment with Ron and Harry. Just as she left she could see George and Fred slinking to replace her. She walked down the isle till she got to the room Ginny had claimed. She knocked softly before sliding the door which revealed the red-headed girl.

"Hey Ginny," She proceeded to take the empty space beside her friend, "Wasn't Luna supposed to be with you?"

Ginny mumbled slightly, furiously scribbling on some parchment and had continued to do so until she met Hermione's eyes before she realized nothing she said was heard, "Oh."

"I said she went to the bathroom." Ginny repeated and Hermione nodded without another word as if she expected Ginny had something else to say, which turned out to be true, "Are you sure you don't recall who was there with you _that_ night?"

Ginny had pressed the issue only twice before this. She could not fathom how Hermione, who was such a bright, talented witch that possessed what seemed like infinite knowledge, could not remember or recognize one face…or at least latch onto someway she could have indentified him

"I already told you that I didn't get to look at his face and he told me that it wasn't important and I quote ' _More_ _important d'at you find friends_.'" Hermione tried to replicate how he sounded to her that night but she was sure she butchered it anyways. The only other thing she distinctly remembered was that he fled on a broom, but that hardly did her any good.

"Well he must have had an accent if he sounded like _that,_ " Ginny snickered softly during her pause, "He must've been dreamy then!"

It was a lucky break that Hermione had not been drinking anything during this, for if she had it certainly would have gone down her windpipe at Ginny's comment.

"Ginny! This is serious, come on." Hermione tended to forget that Ginny was only thirteen and entering the world where boys where becoming interesting. One day she would learn that they were enough trouble even without the added thought of romance.

"I know, I know but can't we have any fun at all? Is that so bad?" Ginny reasoned with Hermione, her face in an adorable pout. Hermione sighed in response.

"Whatever, have your frilly little thoughts." It was Ginny's turn to snort in response.

"Frilly? Are you serious, who says that?" Ginny retorted and both girls could not help but share a laugh. When Luna walked in on them in the midst of their giggling she did not question it and Hermione never expected her to. They were all weird in their own ways.

Eventually it was time for her girl talk with Ginny to end and for her to change into her dress robes for school. Hermione was quick enough about it and walked back to her original seating with Harry and Ron. It seems she would not have to chastise them this time about taking too long to change, a nice feeling it was for her.

"Did'ya hear George said they might be canceling quidditch this year? It's terrible! They wouldn't do something like that, would they?" Ron moaned in horror, to him and Harry quidditch was quite an important thing. If there was no quidditch what else would they waste their time on.

"Sounds horrible Ron," Hermione snickered, "but if they cancel it, isn't there something to be in place? You heard your father, he said there was going to be something quite interesting this year. Wish he would have told us though."

"True, but still!" Ron countered less enthusiastically. He knew Hermione could have cared less if quidditch was canceled…now if the library was shut down for the entire year he was sure she would have created such an uproar.

* * *

Hermione had been particularly excited this year for her room assignment. Through luck of the draw Ginny had been assigned as her roommate, _her only roommate_. She may or may not have pulled some strings with Professor McGonagall, who had owled her that very summer explaining she felt it would be most beneficial for her to have a separate room especially with her use of the time-turner.

Hermione was understood by the professor to be someone who was mostly to herself when not with Harry or Ron. She was fully prepared to decline the offer but eventually settled on writing a letter that requested for Ginny to be roomed with her instead. As much as the thought of being allowed an entire year to room by herself with no interruptions when she studied it was not practical to her. She realized that having a roommate that she was much closer to would benefit her in the long run.

She had spent enough time unpacking her things, having made sure her room was organized enough for the time being. She was sure it would slowly become cluttered and messy as the year progressed though. Having more than enough for her own desk brought its advantages as well, her own minor collection of muggle books lined it against the wall. Most of the books were well distinguished in the muggle world, like _To Kill A Mocking Bird_ and as ironic as it was, _Matilda,_ but there were certainly a couple she knew were not so popular and highly doubted anyone would recognize if spotted espe

Ginny's things were still neatly tucked away in her trunk and carry-ons in the corner of the room. No doubt she would wait till right before curfew to start fixing up her area to be more homely.

Satisfied for the time being she needed to head down to the Great Hall for supper and, more importantly, the news of what was happening this year. She had an inkling that the rumors of quidditch being ditched that year were not so much rumors and if her gut was anything to go by this meant whatever was happening at the school must be quite important.

* * *

It had been just over a month that school had started back up and Hermione felt amazing. She always had an at-home feeling whenever she spent her years at Hogwarts especially in the library. There had been many late nights that she spent in the book filled room.

Normally a stickler for rules, she slowly found herself becoming lenient on staying up. It was far easier with only one roommate but she only did it every now and again. It would do her no good to rearrange her sleeping schedule too late, not with the way classes were progressing.

She remembered when Dumbledore had announced the school and ministry had decided to reinstate the Tri-wizard Tournament. Many of the students were excited for this and for the most part disappointed at the lack of quidditch for the year. _Seems the rumors were right for once_ Hermione had thought at the time.

Today was the day Hogwarts would gain companions from other wizarding schools, guests that would stick around to the very last days of her fourth year. International Magical Cooperation they had called it. It was catchy enough to her; far better than her attempt at S.P.E.W. which Ron referred to as _spew_ far too often. She was itching to cast a good spell on him for it.

There were minimal lessons for the day; in fact she was already finished and surprisingly delighted about it. She hurried down in her jeans and all too used pink jumper. It was common for her to wear it but it was comfortable and that was sensible enough reasoning for her.

In the court yard she had been lucky enough to spot Ron and Harry off the bat. It seems the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang were due to arrive at any moment and quite the commotion was growing in wait.

Hermione, sadly, had limited knowledge on both schools but the bit she did have made her wary of the Durmstrang and their supposed proficiency in the dark arts. Deep down she figured they would not have been allowed in the vicinity if they were of any true threat to Hogwarts and its students but that did not stop her from secretly judging them. They would have to prove themselves before her views would ever think to change.

She had been lost in thought as usual when there was a chorus of yells. Already coming in for a landing, she could see a carriage being wildly pulled through the air by what seemed to be flying horses. She equated this to be the Beauxbatons that had stemmed from France. Something about it seemed…delicate? Her thought was not intended to be offensive but simply the truth.

Still she was quite enamored by this way of travel, soaring through the air in the confines of a beautiful carriage must have been wonderful. ' _Especially compared to that of a broom_ ' Hermione thought with a shudder, her own experiences with flying on brooms had not proven most successful and she grew timid of them as the years passed through.

Now that the horse-pulled carriage had gone from view she had not bothered chasing further down the walkway to see it again. She had turned to the lake, staring into it with no intent. More so she found herself day dreaming as usual. A habit she truly wished she could break at this point in her life because day dreaming would get her absolutely nowhere.

Staring off into space seemed to have its advantage this time as she could see the start of ripples within the water and for good reason she highly doubted it the was the giant squid who was known to be active at random times.

Hermione squinted slightly as if to concentrate on the rising mast, a slender flag whipping back and forth as if having just coming out the water had no effect on it. It was very casual and careful at first the way the ship rose, only allowing the very tip to show before the entire ship seemingly bobbed upwards.

Her eyes widened at the size of the Durmstrang ship which looked quite ghostly, quite fitting of the October month in which they arrived Hermione had thought. She could see the windows were lit up, glowing with a faint yellow tinge. No doubt the day time had muted the brightness but it was still evident. Since they had surfaced from underneath the water there were so many questions that buzzed around in her mind? She wondered what spells kept the water from leaking in and how far down did they go when they submerged.

She was far more captivated by this method of transportation than the Beauxbatons' carriage, perhaps because there seemed something much less mysterious about it, which she had seen arrive naught five minutes before. In another minute she could see them anchoring next to the recently built dock, many male shaped figures moving about atop the ship at this point. She presumed they were doing some sort of procedure to help the docking process.

It appeared that they were wearing rather large, deep brown colored coats. Despite the location of their school being hidden from public knowledge she presumed it was somewhere far off in a cold, wintry land.

Harry tapped Hermione on the shoulder, she had been far too into her concentration on the ship to notice everyone had begun filing back into the school by teacher request.

"Admiring the view Hermione?" Harry joked towards her, Ron was standing ahead by a few feet looking all too excited on his own.

"Don't let Ron hear you say that, he'd have a fit." Hermione rolled her eyes and both of them caught up with Ron.

* * *

The level of excitement in the Great Hall where all the Hogwarts students were located was an absolute mess. So much talk about the tournament, the newly arrived foreign schools, and the upcoming meal all bottled into one room was enough noise to drive a person mad. Luckily enough for Hermione everyone had been quickly silenced by Dumbledore and he made the introductions for each school.

The Beauxbatons had been first, their uniforms still giving off the presentation of daintiness. Their provided introduction did nothing to conflict this thought of hers but she understood well enough that they were a powerful school with excellent students. Hermione knew very well that underestimation could lead to someone's downfall.

It seems she was not the only one in the room that thought of them as "excellent" but perhaps the only one thinking of in relation to their studies. Right now she was sure every boy in Hogwarts was staring in admiration at the girls, Fleur Delacour more specifically. She had heard some boys near her murmuring her name in a way enchanted it made her want to barf.

The students who had been slightly riled up by the newcomers were quickly settled as Hogwart's _friends from the North_ were called in. Their entrance had been much more intimidating as they had practically marched in with the surliest expressions Hermione had ever witnessed. They even had two or three students producing fire which she was sure had instilled some intimidation into some of the other students.

Hermione found herself at a loss for words and thinking if she spoke one of the Durmstrang sons would cast her a dangerous stare. The last bit of those associated with Durmstrang to come in seemed to jokingly remind her of the muggle quote about _saving the best for last_ as she heard Ron speak in an astonished manner.

"It's him...It's Viktor Krum!" Ron had not said a word after that but Hermione's eyes followed Krum as she walked down the aisle. His gait was stiff and commanding with the facial expression to match, though maybe he was indifferent she figured. Regardless his eyes did not waver from looking ahead as he stomped to the front of the Great Hall.

It dawned on her as Ron spoke, he had been the seeker from the quidditch game she had been to a couple months ago.

At first she wondered why a professional player was in a school setting but then she remembered Ron blabbering about how he had just turned eighteen and the youngest player and how was still in school. It seemed that school was Durmstrang. Hermione deemed that this year would be quite exciting awaiting for the rest of it to be played out.

* * *

Well into the third week since the arrivals of the foreigners, school at Hogwarts has continued mostly the same but with a bit of added flair and excitement; Hermione expected nothing less. She wanted to check the library for any books on the tournament, she knew absolutely nothing on the subject and it had bugged ever since its announcement.

It was her fourth time in the library that week when she started to notice a developing pattern. Krum had decided to take refuge two tables down from her. It had been three tables down yesterday, and four tables the time before that but it seemed he felt the need to move closer yet again. He had been reading some form of literature she could not make out from so far away but she was sure it was not written in English.

She supposed it was just her brain causing her to be more curious than need be but she could not think of a plausible reason why. Then the _giggling_ started up…again.

Krum's fan club was not that easy to miss. Hermione had seen Krum walking through the school every now and then at random times and, without fail, he was always trailed by growing number of girls. She could hear their overly loud whispers of gossip.

Every time she wished she could tell them to bugger off, that their indecent behavior was truly stupid. She held her tongue and waited till she was in private to snort because she always caught the annoyed look Krum had on his face when they trailed. _If they only knew…_

While she could tolerate it walking through the halls because their indirect meetings were fleeting, she could not, no, she _would not_ tolerate it in the library for much longer. While they did not join the Bulgarian at the table he chose to sit at they were usually grouped together at a different one or hiding behind the bookshelves.

In that moment Hermione had wanted to walk straight up the pompous looking girl with rosy red cheeks and dirty blonde hair just to tell her that ' _You might think bookshelves are meant to hide the dumb looks of infatuated girls who are wasting their time but they're not! They're meant for books and that's it.'_

This time she did not have the gall to do so and she was sure her Griffyndor pride would frown at. She was supposed to be brave, sure, but the entire situation seemed tiring. Truthfully she wished he would leave the library and take his legion of mindless girls with him.

During her private-minded spiel Hermione had accidently let a frustrated sigh slip out loud. She promptly stiffened but allowed herself to glance around. It was louder than she wished it would have been and the openness of the library had probably amplified it as well.

Perhaps she could have played it off as her bookwork giving her trouble, she certainly had not turned the page in over ten minutes. The only solution was to bury herself in her book as she knew her potions essay would not get done on its own and to have fretted over other trivial matters was pointless.

But Krum was staring at her quizzically again, not that she had noticed. An awful routine that he had started to develop. At first he had been quite good about keeping his little habit under wraps, sneaking glances at her when he was sure her nose was buried in notes. Lately though he had been more daring as if catching even catching the faintest glimpse of her face would satiate his growing curiosity of her.

She had a particular natural beauty about her. True her hair was on the busy side and her teeth may have been a bit too large but the way her eyes, matching in tone to the richness of sweetened chocolate, lit up when she was in library or talking with her two friends and…well it was refreshingly pleasant for him.

Viktor knew he had no room to judge on looks of course. He was almost positive that if he held no fame from his quidditch endeavors that his popularity would have diminished to something non-existent.

The infatuated girls were surely blinded by his world accomplishments, the less important ones that was, and were too busy to see the true him and what he wanted. His nose was crooked looking, a side-effect from injuries in the sport he loved to play, and the particularly short crew cut Karkaroff had forced him to acquire was certainly unappealing to him though he had minded it less as of late.

Looks were not of utmost importance to him, whether he was the topic of such or if it centered on a girl. Sadly, much of attention surrounding him was not so and with that another scowl graced his troubled face and hunched back.

There he had gone again, off onto a tangent of thoughts that no one else would ever know. He flipped the page of his book absent mindedly. A book on plants. _Quite boring_ he first thought, but he had borrowed the book from a friend who held no questions against him.

Stealing another glance from Hermione's direction, he had overheard her name due to her red-headed friend's boisterous taking, he gazed at the waves of her hair. They suited her.

He had recognized her before he attempted to sit in at the library. She had been _that girl_ from the night his team lost the match, _that damned match_ that he so often tried to forget about. But he could not bring himself to do so, not with her presence burned into his memory from it.

She had been caught in the midst of an attack, perhaps unaware at first of what the attack was meant to do. He knew he had been so at first. Of course they, the team managers, had tried to hide away in fear not that Viktor could blame them. He felt the need to help out, despite being a mini-celebrity, he knew the people in the tents had been caught unaware just as his area had been.

She just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time where as he had not.

So no he could not burn the memory, no matter how short it was, of her lying on the ground unconscious. He could not burn the memory of her messy pony tail and fierce eyes from his memory. Or the way she did not flock to him upon learning who he was, the quidditch seeker not the one who had helped her strange night, when he did not dare give his name aloud.

His opinion had changed since then. Now he would certainly be glad to have his name roll off her tongue. He questioned if that would ever happen now especially after overhearing her tell someone _'He's only a quidditch player!'_

His gut had told him that he was that _quidditch player_. It had stung his pride before he got the better of himself. How much did he complain that he wish he could live life as peacefully as he used to? To not be some ploy for fame and money. To not be the object of everyone's false affections. _To be a normal wizard who attended Durmstrang._

Here was a girl who did not care to buy into it and what kind of person would be to cast judgement for that.

He had more things to worry about. _Like plucking up the actual courage to speak another word to her._ It seemed much too intimidating now to speak to a single fifteen-year old girl especially versus the Death Eaters he had faced so very few months ago. He was at a loss.

But not so much of a loss that could not sneak one more glimpse of her before relieving himself of the library to head to dinner. He would talk to her one way or another even if it was the last thing he did.

* * *

I _promise_ there will be some moments between Hermione and Viktor in the next chapter but you gotta have build up for that to happen! Thank you for reading this chapter and, as always, reviews and favorites/alerts are very much welcome as well as appreciated. See you in a week!


	3. Draconic Primadonna

**Words:** 5,485

 **A/N:** Hope that you all enjoy the chapter! This one is a bit longer than the last two so I'm sure you guys will like that. Weekly upload for next Friday _shouldn't_ be off schedule but I've been dealing with the preparations for my grandfather's funeral and it's taken its toll. I'm still going strong though and hope you guys are doing good as well! Enjoy.

* * *

 _Chapter iii – Primadonna Draconian_

 _will you be able to tell when the defining moments in your life are happening? will you look back in shock once they've already occured? will you wish they could replay themselves forever or fade away?_

* * *

Hermione decided to evade the library the day before Halloween since it was the day to submit names into the Goblet of Fire before they were chosen the following day. Her curiosity had gotten the better of her and she took a front row seat on one of the benches near the Goblet of Fire to casually watch those who have chosen to add their name into the blue fire. Many students from all three schools had stepped up to the challenge, a challenge she hoped they realize will surely test them beyond belief.

Hermione was quite certain that almost every Durmstrang student had submitted their name; she had counted more brown coats than the silky blue of Beauxbatons or the familiar Hogwarts uniforms.

Well that was everyone, everyone but _Krum_. The one who had been invading her personal, well not _that_ personal, space, her sanctuary, her freedom in the library. She was sure he did not mean to bring along the horde of girls but she thought the he must have carried some decency to know they were not welcome.

Slowly she began to wonder why she had thought about him. Why did he come to mind, why did she know he was the _one_ Durmstrang student who had yet to appear? He was slowly seeping into the cracks of her mind somehow and she had not spoken a single word to him. It felt unnerving.

She looked up to see Fred and George jogging in, the lightbulb in their heads had gone off earlier as they now entered with what they claimed to be an aging potion. Hermione saw this as quite the amateurish move.

"If I were you two I wouldn't be so sure that's going to work." Hermione spoke smartly towards the twins, the roll in her eyes ever the more prominent, "Dumbledore would have thought of that, especially with the use of an age line."

They promptly ignored her and downed the vials in their hands. Stepping over the age line that Dumbledore had drawn himself they quietly cheered. They saved their true celebration after they had deposited the two slips of paper that bore their names into the goblet.

Unfortunately, it had been a short lived victory for the two sixteen year olds as they were hastily shoved back several feet by an invisible force. They rose from the floor sporting wiry, gray beards and wrinkles on their rapidly aging faces.

Hermione watched as they began to tussle back and forth with one another, each blaming the other for what went wrong. She scoffed having known their plan would not have worked to begin with. She hurriedly opened her book while the others began to cheer the Weasley twins on with several chants of _Fight, Fight, Fight!_

She continued to ignore them in hopes of concentrating better on her reading, she had decided it was time once again to read _Matilda_. She had read the story far more times than she could count but it never got old for her. It was a quality read for her and each time she read it nothing ever lacked.

Five minutes later Hermione could hear several heavy sets of footsteps. She took the chance to glance up from her book and easily spotted Krum, Karkaroff, and one other Durmstrang student that she did not know the name of, only that he was often seen around the famous quidditch player.

Both Karkaroff and the unknown student hung back as Krum...it was getting weird for Hermione to refer to him as Krum in her mind. She had already known of his name from overhearing others and she felt the need to address him less formally, even if was not to his face, even if he was merely a thought passing through her mind.

Deciding to close her book and set it aside she watched as Viktor looked as if he were on one of the most serious missions of his life as his vision did not stray as he stalked towards the Goblet of Fire. She could see the slip of paper as it went from being clenched in his hands to drop into the fake fire. It did not appear to have wrinkled as far as she could notice.

Hermione did not stay focused on the slip of parchment though, she was more focused with the look Viktor had given her as he completed his task. It was not a demeaning stare, it simply looked as if he was examining her despite the thin line that made up his lips and the directness his eyes which had yet to change since he entered the open room. She could seem him linger a moment as she watched him, a single upward twitch in his lips, before he left the hall.

She found their interaction concerning. Did his stare mean anything? Or was he simply returning the favor? After all she had been watching his move ever since he made his presence in the Great Hall known.

She is not sure how much time has passed but she has finally left feeling unnerved, her bushy hair bouncing back and forth slightly as if in tune with her walk, her book which she had somehow forgotten lay against the stone floor had fallen to the ground. Hermione a group of Durmstrang students who seemed to enter the hall once more but she could have cared less why.

Her head had turned down which caused her to miss the familiar Bulgarian in the middle of the group that she was so closely focused on earlier.

* * *

The following night, all Hallow's Eve, she had been slightly anxious to know of who the Goblet of Fire would choose for the tournament's rigorous challenges. Even though there was an inkling for each school of who would be chosen it was still undecided until their names were spit out.

She had been in the library for a good two hours now reading more on the Tri-wizard tournament. She had found half a dozen books, all which featured different content, on the specific subject. She was horrified to learn of all the deaths that had been involved with this very event. Sure the ministry had proclaimed their new rules to make it safer but was that the truth? She was already wary of the ministry but it was not like she had a choice to go against them. Only time would tell how the tournament would end.

Viktor had been in the library before she had gotten there but for how long she did not know. It seemed he had a different book this time but still in what she assumed was Bulgarian. She would have loved to know what he chose to read which was a bit of a nosy habit on her part.

Before she could read further on the rituals of the Tri-Wizard Tournament there was a loud, echoing chime that resounded through the library. She had no doubt it was sounding throughout the entire castle of Hogwarts. It signified that everyone needed to report to the Great Hall to find out who had been picked.

She looked up to see Viktor lost in thought before he too glanced upwards. Their eyes met briefly before he got up from his seat. He looked down as he closed his book, scooting in his chair. He looked back at her but this time she received what seemed to be a very faint smile. The first time she had seen anything like it grace his face.

To Hermione it suited him and it was a pity he did not do it more often, at least in her presence. She looked at him indifferently but quickly changed to that of a pleasant expression. The library had been strangely quiet today despite his appearance. She wondered where those fangirls were at this time but did not further the thought.

"Hi." Hermione had spoken so softly she was not sure he would hear her. She had started on her way out but in order to do she had to pass the Bulgarian who had started walking out as well who followed close by.

"Hello…" He had responded and for a moment she wondered if he had only done so to be nice; these fears were quickly squashed when he continued, "Your name is Hermy…Her-mayo-knee?"

She had stared at him inquisitively, that enunciation of her name having been the first time she heard it. She did not take the mispronunciation to heart though, understanding that English was not his first language.

"Er, yeah and you are Viktor?" She nodded towards him but he scowled. She wanted to laugh but bit back the yearning to.

"No good, eh? Wrong...way to say it. English needs work, I know." This time she could not help but giggle at his frustrations but instead of looking discouraged his face seemed to brighten. She once more held a curious view of him but smiled nonetheless.

"It's alright. Quite the name, isn't it? Yours is lovely by the way." She knew her name had not been something average and had adjusted to so over the years of growing up, "May I ask of what you were reading? You seemed quite into it."

"Just history of home. I read it when homesick. Seems weird I am sure." He had lifted the book previously at his side for her to see the cover more clearly. She could not read the title but the cover art was phenomenal, a brilliant wintry forest that seemed brought to life instead of the dead looking winters Hogwarts brought.

"Not really, it's good to remember your heritage." She spoke in truth and he merely nodded. They had almost reached the Great Hall and they figured they would end their conversation there. Viktor was expected to sit in a specific spot while Hermione wanted to be near her closer friends.

"I hope we speak again soon, dah?" Viktor looked at her expectantly to which she simply nodded to him. This seemed to satisfy him and he clicked the heels of his shoe, bowed, and proceeded to continue into the hall by himself. _So formal_ she thought with a snicker that consumed any of thought of recognizing its familiarity.

She followed suit clutching her book to her chest quickly examining the Hogwarts crowd for Harry and Ron. They caught sight of their bushy haired friend and waved frantically, indicating they had saved a seat to which she was quite grateful for.

She rushed over, slightly breathless from weaving in between other students, mostly Gryffindors, as she finally reached her seat. There was a sense of eagerness in the crowds, one particular goal in mind between everyone and it was to find who the three champion candidates.

Dumbledore did a wondrous job at calming the entire room, everyone's loud, boisterous talking simmered down into complete silence. All eyes were on the goblet as slowly its flames melted into a calming red. Hermione almost felt as if she were in a daze watching it.

And to think, she, Ron, and Harry could watch from the sidelines as the chosen ones competed to the best of their abilities. A normal year for the trio where they would only have the stresses of potions, charms, and doing homework!

"The champion for Durmstrang," Dumbledore's voice spoke loudly as he paused to read the slip of paper, a single named scribbled upon it, "will be Viktor Krum."

The entire room was in somewhat of an uproar, a good one though, as the Durmstrang student stood up from his seat and was acknowledged by her headmaster. He seemed to sport a proud look and she was as well, despite having little communication with him. There was something about the air around him that screamed of humility. He had left immediately afterwards, disappearing out a door near the back of the hall.

Fleur Delacour, from the Beauxbatons Academy, was called next. She was not familiar with her at all but she clapped respectively for her. She rolled her eyes when Ron was cheering just as loud as when Viktor's name was called, if not louder.

The final name to be chosen was, to no surprise, Cedric. She followed suit life before, clapping softly as he went up to receive instruction. Dumbledore was beginning to conclude the ceremony when there seemed to be a sudden change in the atmosphere. She could feel it immediately; the Goblet of Fire was not finished. Its soothing shade blue transformed into an angry, butchering-looking red.

She stared at the goblet in disbelief unsure of what was going on. Through all the texts she read on the event there had been no such occurrence mention as this. Her frowned continued to worsen and worsen as Dumbledore received a final slip of paper.

" _Harry Potter."_

* * *

It was the third of November when Hermione became disheartened. Just that morning the outlook of the day seemed so enthralling and positive despite the aftermath of the Goblet of was concerned for Harry. He had not been well received by most the day after the champions had been chosen. There were many, though, in his own house that had not cared. They were simply excited enough to have someone in Gryffindor competing.

Ron had not been so gracious with his attitude either. He had words with Harry, the night of, which lead to them not speaking. If breakfast had continued to be anything to go by, their friendship was certainly under a lot strain due to this. He had removed himself from the trio's usual spot _again_ and sat off to edge where he conversed with others. Hermione frowned greatly at this. She knew deep down that Harry had not been the one to drop his name into the Goblet of Fire. It was atrocious to think that he wanted _more_ attention despite his reputation with you-know-who.

She wished that Ron could understand that he was acting like a complete arse and realize that Harry was going to need his friends now more than ever. The first task was less than a month away and the only thing Harry had learned was that it designed to test his courage. This left limitless possibilities for Hermione to think of.

It scared her to not know what he was up against, to not be able to offer him a solution. She, without a doubt, did not want her friend to suffer.

Getting through her classes that day seemed like a chore, like a strange impatience that Hermione had never felt. It was not until Mad-Eye Moody's class that she was truly affected. He has started with a discussion on the unforgiveable curses. When he had asked how many there were she had little to no issue speaking that there were, in fact, three unforgiveable curses. He had simply responded with a meager ' _good, good'_ for her correct answer, not that she was expecting more but her mind wandered to what he was up to.

Then he became more passionate, if that were even the right word to use, about the curses. Going on a tirade about how they not only deserved to know their names but to see them in action and to see how they functioned. This struck the first chord within Hermione, as if she were a bird who had its feather plucked unsuspectingly.

When he had asked for the first curse, the Imperius Curse, he performed it on one of the spiders from the jars. She watched as Moody controlled it do what appeared to be humorous things until he abruptly brought the mood in classroom down we he claimed he could force the creature to drown or toss itself out the window.

This shut everyone right up. The feeling in the pit of her stomach got slight worse when he demanded to cast it on every student in the class to show them what they were up against. He made students preform different tasks, showing that the curse made them easily capable of preforming tasks they were not capable of or forcing them to do something they may have no wanted to do.

When it got to Hermione's turn she did not face anything truly daring like acrobatic feats or playing some silly game of charades. Once under the spell she felt unaware, only a thing sliver of consciousness floating around for her. There was a feeling of simplicity for her as she felt herself under the Imperius Curse.

He commanded her to rip a sheet from the book he laid on the table. The voice she heard was entirely different. It came in a soothing, coaxing voice. She felt airy and light as if there were no troubles for her to behold.

 _Rip it. Rip the page._

She eyed it and had done simply as she was told like it was nothing. Then like that it was lifted, the torn sheet still in her hand as she became fully aware when the fog hovering in her mind lifted.

She frowned deeply at this as she walked back to her desk. There was something about the curse that made her feel dirty? Or disgusted? The fact that she had been made to do something against her will, regardless of what it was, made her inwardly upset.

Once he had finished with the entire class, the spider from earlier was brought back out. She inwardly cringed at the thought of him doing the next curse, the Crutiatus Curse, on anyone. It seemed he already had a level of understanding for the remainder of the class any casting would not be done on the students. Hermione could not understand why he forced the first one on them in the first place.

He had called on Neville and the following actions were what snapped her out of her reverie. She could see his growing uncomfortableness as Moody explained what the second curse was, forcing Neville to watch as the spider contorted viciously in pain.

Her blood boiled, this man must have known what had happened to Neville's parents. He was doing it on purpose and before she knew it her attitude had gotten the best of her. She had only heard rumors of what had happened to his mother and father but this only solidified her belief in them.

"Stop it!" She practically shouted, but her voice cracked into an uneasy whisper. Moody glanced back towards her, staring at her. She had never, not once, felt so uncomfortable in her classes. Even with the way Snape tended to treat Harry, Ron, or her…this felt ridiculous in its own sort.

It seemed to do some good, at least momentarily, as Neville was ushered back to his seat. When Moody asked for the third curse no one dared raise their hand, not even Hermione. The answer came to her mind, the memory from the world cup attached to it.

"Avada Kedavra." It slipped out in reflex but luckily it had been nothing more than a whisper that not even Moody heard. Not a second later the exact same words slipped through his mouth and the spider's life was extinguished before them in an instant. He had said it so irritated, surely upset that no one had answered his question. Or maybe something else had been irking him?

This was the first time she had ever regretted her abundance of knowledge, that she considered it a burden rather than a blessing.

The end of the class could not come soon enough for her. She had lingered to gather her items and books, walking out with just Harry. Neville had been one of the first out of the classroom. She caught sight of him near the bottom of the winding staircase. She could only imagine how he felt after that horrible lesson.

"Neville, are you all right?" Hermione's voice was soothing as she asked him in a gentle voice. It took him a minute to turn around and face her. She frowned.

"I'm…I'm fine…I'm..." He looked horribly confused and quite terribly lost, the light in that was in his eyes now seemed terribly dim.

Before either could continue Moody appeared to be hobbling down the stairs as quick as he could. His fake foot banging against each step as it hit. Hermione simply frowned further and apologized to her friends before vacating the area. She did not think she could handle another look at _that_ man.

She found herself near the shore of the black lake, the makings of what she felt were heavy tears forming. She slumped down onto a large rock, trying to hold back a sob. She was so confused. When had she, _Hermione Granger_ , become so emotional? She was always calm, cool, and collected.

She found it hard to swallow, the lump in her throat was quite thick, but did so anyways. Hermione considered herself lucky that there were not any passing students and she was done with her classes for the day. Pressing the palms of her hands to the sides of her head she let out a frustrated noise. It did not matter, there was no one around to hear her. Or that's what she had believed.

"Her-mayo-knee?" Viktor was walking towards her, something akin to concern gracing his features, until he stopped in front of her.

"O-oh, Viktor," She paused, awkwardly wiping away the forming tears that had congregated around the edge of her eyes, "I didn't see you there, I'm sorry."

"No, no say sorry. Why are you crying? Did someone hurt you?" He had a light blush on his face as he questioned her but was ultimately concerned about Hermione.

"No, no one hurt me. It was class. Moody is…a strange fellow." She was unsure of how to explain herself, especially to someone she had only really conversed to one time. Even so, that one time had been quite pleasant. Could she confide in Viktor so easily? Would he even want to hear her thoughts? She did not have many people that were so willing to listen.

"Very strange, Durmstrang students don't like him. Neit'er do I." Hermione was slightly surprised. Viktor, who always seemed to be choosy with how he spoke, who he spoke to, and how much he spoke, seemed to have no issue responding to her. There was something comforting about that fact.

"You know, you may tell me your t'oughts if you wish. Good listener, lots of practice from home." Viktor spoke again as she had taken a breath instead of responding. She had been staring at the ground for a while but decided to give it a break, choosing to look at him. He tilted his head.

"It's just…something about Moody doesn't sit right with me. _At all._ He went over the three unforgiveable curses today and he even placed the Imperius Curse on us! He had the nerve to claim that it's what Dumbledore wanted," Hermione felt herself go onto a mini-tangent which often occurred with Ron or Harry present, "And I know we're not supposed to question teachers but I find myself wanting to with him especially after today."

Viktor simply nodded, leaning lower so that he closer to Hermione's eye level. It shocked him inwardly that a place like Hogwarts would allow such a practice, they seemed far different from the customs at Durmstrang. Perhaps there was something shady going through the school's halls. All he knew, though, was what it was like to be under the Imperius Curse and it ultimately was not pleasant in the long run.

"I mean this probably sounds entirely stupid and _I know I should be stronger_ but after today…after the world cup…" She froze when the last bit of info slipped from her mouth. She gazed back at Viktor who was staring back at her, a stare she had been accustomed to after his many visits to the library.

"I know feeling of the Imperius Curse. Is no fun, very unnerving at the end." He mulled over his decision to speak further before deciding so, "Curse dulls you, makes person too easy to betray. Feel too dirty after though. You don't sound stupid, you have own mind and not afraid of it."

Hermione stared at him peculiarly, had she been invading his thoughts too? She did not mention how she too thought it was a strange feeling after it had been lifted.

"World Cup though?" She mentally cursed when it was certain that he heard her earlier statement, "I remember that night as well. Big loss, but more important when Deat' Eaters attacked."

For the second time that day, she had heard something that struck a chord inside her. The accent he had was one she found strikingly familiar despite never hearing someone with it. The way he pronounced Death Eaters …

 _And then it hit her._

"You're him!" She stared at him in shock, her mouth openly gaping for a moment before she realized she need to close her mouth. It made sense to her now. When he bowed earlier it had seemed quite strange, she had seen other students from his school follow a similar protocol and did not truly question it until now.

"Him? I do not follow." Viktor stared at her strangely, not having caught onto her revelation quite yet, though there was a peculiar glint in his eyes.

"F-From that night, when Death Eater's attacked. You're the one who saved me, aren't you?" Hermione new that he could deny the claim, but if he knew what was best for both of them he would not hide the truth.

"Ah. I see. That is truth..." He looked away for a moment, seemingly confused that he had been recognized not as a quidditch sensation but as the one who had protected her that night, "Voice gave away?"

"Something like that." She was unsure of what to do now, a nagging feeling in the back of her mind wanted to know more but she also was unsure of where the knowledge would lead, "How did you manage to be out in the open like that?"

"Sometime simplest thing fool smartest wizards." He made the motion as if he were putting on a hood and she could not control the laugh that escaped, "I rather be doing something important than hiding out."

"That's a very admirable thing to say." Hermione shared a small smile with Viktor. He simply shrugged in response.

"Just remember, Moody was no good for doing dat to the class. D'ere are better ways of teaching than to do manipulating dings like dat." Viktor seemed very serious about what he spoke. They stood up together in sync.

"I should probably get back to Harry…Thank you Viktor." Hermione was more at peace now than she had been the entire week. It felt refreshing to have someone new listen to her thoughts.

"Dah." Viktor had repeated his exit from the last time they departed, the edges of his shoes knocking together followed by a bow. She swore she saw a lingering smile on his face as he left but she was not sure.

The blush rising on her cheeks at this point was unstoppable and she was very interested to know why he was so formal with her. The boys at Hogwarts never acted in such a way and it caused her to very curious.

* * *

The following day, a surprisingly peaceful Friday, Hermione found herself in the library as the sun began to set. She was surprised once more after having identified Viktor's presence in the library. Viktor was faced away from the entrance, head buried in what she assumed was a book. As she walked past different sets of tables and chairs she could not help but peer at the book in hands as she neared his table.

So far he had only brought foreign books to the library and the only reason she was ever able to see the cover was because she learned of his odd reading habit. Whenever Viktor switched the reading the right page he always held up the cover at a 90-degree angle making it easy for others to see. She did not understand why but she knew that she had her own reading quirks and this was simply one of his.

This time, though, she could see clearly from the cover it was a book produced in English. _It was her book._

Hermione stopped shortly from his table as she scrutinizing the cover. It took her a moment before she became self-aware; no one else was in the library, always empty on Friday it seemed. Viktor laid the book down and turned around to face her, hand on the back of the chair as he turned.

"Her-mayo-knee, I found your book. Well at least I t'ink it's your book." Hermione almost wanted to giggle when she saw him go cross with frustrated confusion.

"Yes, _Matilda_ is one of my personal books." She responded promptly and proceeded to take a seat next to Viktor when he motioned for her to sit. She had done so with little reluctance this time.

"Was not sure but I remembered you reading this when I walked in to put name in for tournament." Viktor continued on flipping through the book carefully.

"You read some?" Hermione looked to him curiously; she figured he was reading it earlier but perhaps he had only been flipping through the pages like he was doing now.

"Yes, but not much. Very interesting book. Witch not common thing in this book?" Viktor seemed to be earnestly intrigued by the concept of her book's plot. She silently wondered if he had ever read any English fiction but pondered that it was not likely.

"Nope, I assume she's the only one of her kind in the book. Much different from our reality, eh?" She smiled softly, receiving the book from him as he slid it over with a nod.

"I just realized that your fangirls are nowhere to be seen…ditched them or?" Hermione carried on the conversation, her curiosity piqued when Viktor held a smug look.

"Sort of. Durmstrang students like to walk in group. Friends help when I want to go places like library sometimes." Viktor paused, looking off into the distance as if he had heard something. He looked back to Hermione almost as quickly though, his posture relaxed.

"When hats on and heads down t'ey can't tell us apart so easy. Don't see when I slip off from group either. Girls here are...not so smart? Well some are not but not you! You're very smart." Viktor rambled for a moment, something Hermione had not thought him capable of for some reason. She heard him truly laugh in her presence for the first time as well, a deep hearty laugh. It's was an interesting noise she found and for a moment thought herself weird for having thought so. It seemed she had many _weird_ thoughts these days.

"So are the Durmstrang students allowed to visit Hogsmeade?" Hermione questioned him after he had settled down while she absentmindedly fixed her bangs. She had managed to tame her hair just enough for a pony tail but her bangs just refused to cooperate today.

"Dah, friends were talking about it earlier. Tell me what is in this…Hogsmed?" Hermione could see Viktor cringe at his pronunciation but it had not bothered her in the slightest.

"Well there's lots to do in Hogsmeade. They've got The Three Broomsticks, the butterbeer is amazing. Then there's Honeydukes...but Harry and Ron go there more often than I do, there's a lot of sweets. Ah, you and your friends might like Spintwitches. They sell a lot of quidditch things if I remember correctly. Oh! There's this little shop that I just adore because there's such an assortment of quills and…" Hermione trailed off having suddenly felt embarrassed, knowing she really could get carried away couldn't she.

"Oh…I'm rambling aren't I? I'm really sorry about that." Hermione looked away sheepishly, Ron was always ragging on her when she start talking _too_ much regardless of the topic.

"Is fine. I'm happy you wish to share knowledge and interests wid me." Viktor shook his head as if to disagree with her realization. He figured sharing anything and everything you knew could be a good thing.

Hermione's jaw went slightly slack at his comment but she regained her composure almost instantaneously. She had half expected him to agree with her or make some ill-mannered comment.

It took her a moment to fully realize that there were others out there who would not be turned off by how much she knew or even those out there who would share in her thirst to be knowledgeable. Hermione was so accustomed to Ron shrugging her off, regardless of their friendship. This was a pleasant surprise for her.

 _"That makes me happy to hear Viktor."_

* * *

As always, thank you for the support, reviews are always welcome! Happy Halloween as well!


	4. Porchlight

**Words** : 4,384

A/N: How have you guys been? Doing well I hope! I'm hanging in there myself. I'm so excited to put out the fourth chapter of Bread Krums (sorry for putting it up so late in the day!) and to think the story has hit nearly 1,000 views is more than I could have ever asked for, so thank you for all the support on the story so far. It really means a difference for a writer's story progression when there is so much lovely feedback! So enjoy the fourth chapter.

* * *

 _Chapter iv – Porchlight_

 _no longer the castaway kid, no longer the one taken for granted, no longer the one who waits in the dark with a broken light_

* * *

Hermione, the saint that she was, was ready to pull her hair out and the school's clock had yet to even strike twelve. Normally if there was a trip to Hogsmeade it would be the golden trio going together but with Harry and Ron's, mostly Ron's, feud still raging the latter had refused to share a carriage with the former. Hermione had once again been pulled into the mess.

She and Ron were waiting for an empty carriage to make its way back to them. Hermione did not mind waiting but Ron was an entirely different story, grumbling and moaning about how there should already be one available for use.

"Hey Ron, have you seen my pink sweater anywhere? I lost it yesterday and I just haven't been able to find it?" Hermione interrupted her friend's aggravation while there was a free moment of time available between the two. She thought she had forgotten it in the common room on Friday but after checking back it was not there and no one had seen a thing apparently.

"Er…no Hermione, sorry." Ron responded awkwardly. Hermione stared at him for a moment very oddly before she looked elsewhere. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Viktor and three others, she assumed they were his friends he had mentioned the day before. Ron did not seem to want to make good company so Hermione excused herself giving her friend some random explanation and added that the next carriage will not even be there for another few minutes.

She watched silently, eyeing their curiosity with little interest, as the group gaped at the carriages which seemed to be pulled by nothing more than thin air. Well the entire group was doing so except for Viktor, he was what captured her interest far more. Instead of being overtly intrigued, he was hanging towards the back, a silent scowl embedded on his face.

"Can you see them?" Hermione called as she came upon him from behind. She was not sure if she startled Viktor but he did not appear to jump or flinch when she spoke. The background noise was more apparent now having included a nest of angry birds and the conversation of his friends which she presumed was in Bulgarian.

"Dah, but friends cannot. Are wondering what magic that makes the carriages move." Viktor took a moment before he chose a response. When he turned around there was a look of surprise on his face, knowing very well if she is asking if he could see them, she could see them as well.

"I didn't realize at first. That I had seen someone die, I mean. It took me quite a while to piece it together actually. The summer of my second year of Hogwarts my grandfather had been at the house. It had only been the two of us at home. I thought...he had fallen asleep…" Hermione started before he can question her and trailed off into thought eventually. She looked towards the carriage that was now a mere dot in the distance. She knew that it was not magic that pulled the carriage.

It's the threstrals that she has seen. And that Viktor has seen too.

"I understand _now_ of course, but I've never really told anyone about that. I don't really tell people I can see _them_ either." Hermione recovered quickly, having interjected that last bit before she could forget.

"Understandable. Only seen them twice before d'is. Mother taught me about d'em, she's intrigued by strange creatures. Father always told us spooky stories to me and my brothers." Viktor had nodded but there seemed to be a glaze that came over his eyes that matched his tense body language.

"Your reason for seeing them is not as light as mine, is it?" Hermione pressed her lips into a thin line.

"Perhaps not…but maybe story for another time, yes?" Viktor spoke with his eyes down casted. She nodded in agreement, knowing very well that death was not something to take lightly. She inwardly figured that he must have gone through a great inner struggle with whoever's death he had witnessed.

After that they bid one another farewell when they had seen empty carriages ready to take the next batch of students to the town. When Hermione got back to Ron she rolled her eyes watching as he kicked rocks in frustration. She had no idea what had set him off now when she saw him give her barely anything more than a glance. He _always_ seemed to be in a sour mood these days.

The first ten minutes to Hogsmeade were quiet. Hermione was more than fine glancing at the scenery, anything to avoid the foul look on Ron's face. He seemed to want to say something but spoke no words to her until he could not hold whatever was so important in.

"Geez Hermione, what has you so busy lately with all this running off? I hardly see you these days. If it's not the library it's something else." Ron said ending his outburst with an irritated huff. He was hunched over, elbows atop his knees. Hermione did not respond to him. She decided instead to send him a mere pointed look and a mental scoff, as if she did not have a life outside of being friends with him.

They spent the remaining amount of the ride in silence, something Hermione was more than grateful for. Luckily whatever was truly troubling Ron seemed to have simmered away from his thoughts and emotions. They chatted were able to eagerly as they began to go to one of the stores, as if nothing had happened before.

* * *

The day passed by rather quickly and the two of them found themselves at The Three Broomsticks. Hermione swore she saw Harry entering just before them but after she entered with Ron there was no sight of him.

The two sat down at one of the only tables left available and each ordered a butterbeer. Hermione would have said things were going nice but there was always something going to intervene when she was having fun. Ron had gone quiet again which left her in a perplexed state until she could not stand it anymore.

"What's your deal Ron? You seem really off today." Hermione frowned expecting her friend to complain about classes or some brush off from another girl.

"Just wondering why you're always in the library lately. You can't _possibly_ have that much homework to do." Ron blurts out after taking a sip of his butterbeer. Hermione is not sure what about what he said that set her off but it is almost an instant reaction for her.

"Are you serious, is that it? I can go to the library as much as I ant. Unlike you, _Ronald Weasley,_ I'm busy helping you with _your_ homework too. Have you forgotten that? Maybe you'll do good to remember it because I won't be doing it anymore!" Hermione had somewhat of a stare-off with her ginger-haired friend before he got up and left the remains of his butterbeer untouched. She had not meant to blow up like that but whatever had gotten ahold of her could not take it any longer.

"Whatever, I'm going to Honeydukes." Ron practically stomped off leaving Hermione to watch in disbelief. He was entirely out of line in her opinion. Hermione looked down at her own butterbeer with a sigh. She knew she should not be fighting with Ron while he was feuding with Harry but she could not help herself this time. She was seriously starting to get tired of being the middle ground. Besides, it was her time and she could do with it what she liked.

She continued to stare into her drink where she debated if it was worth it to stick around the pub or just head back to her quarters at Hogwarts. Curfew was not for a little while either. She did not want to be in bad spirits and call it a night just yet but it was hard to feel upbeat when a supposed close friend treated her like so.

"Ron finally acting like a complete git to you too now?" Harry's sudden appearance did spook her but it was not an unwelcome surprise. He took a seat casually while he talked. Hermione was in the midst of taking a sip of butterbeer and nearly snorted it when she heard Harry's comment.

"Not quite, but I'm afraid he's well on his way there." The two shared a small laugh but Hermione declined after Harry invited her to sit with the group of Gryffindors he had been with previously. She apologized and told him she was not sure if she would be pleasant company at this point and that she would probably just turn in for the night.

Harry seemed to understand and not pressure her to rethink her answer, something she was quite grateful for. It made her appreciate their friendship all the more. After Harry left she lingered around the table for a little longer, just enough to finish her drink. She slid it aside and put her head on the table. She was lost in thought so deeply that she did not even move when the chair beside her was slid out from under the table and someone took a seat.

At first she thought it was Ron, perhaps he had come back to apologize for what he said. Even with that thought she did not know if she had the energy to handle him.

"Look Ron I'm really tir-" Hermione was caught quite off guard when she heard a deep chuckle, one that certainly did not belong to Ron, and was interrupted.

"Name not Ron, you know dis." Viktor watched as she instantly sat up with a look of sheer surprise. The waves in her hair appeared more messy than usual and perhaps they mirrored her current state of mind.

"Oh, I'm really sorry Viktor, I didn't realize it was you." Hermione had sounded a bit deflated when she spoke which made him want to frown.

"S'okay Her-mayo-knee. Are you alright? Red-headed friend did not seem so…friendly tonight?" Viktor questioned concernedly but he was confused when she shook it off.

"I'm fine, Ron's just being…well Ron. Everything will be fine tomorrow." Hermione dismissed her friend's behavior without a second thought and it made Viktor contemplate questioning it further but in the end he chose not to.

"…Alright. But do you mind company now? My friends come sit, keep company so night isn't lost, right?" Viktor appeared hopeful at the proposition.

"Umm, alright, sure. It could be fun." In any normal situation Hermione would have declined without a second thought but Viktor had been nothing but nice to her so far and she was sure he would not have friends who were mean. She was not entirely convinced, though, and silently questioned if his friends would find her company worth it.

She watched without a word as Viktor signaled to his friends that it was okay to come over. She noticed it was only three people, none of which were donning their normal school uniform apart from the coats. She wordlessly told herself that three people was not that bad after all. When they sat down at the table they seemed eager enough to meet her and Viktor happily obliged by introducing one another.

"Her-mayo-knee, dis is Boris, then Ivan, and Dimitiri. All are in same year with me. Known them for long time." Viktor introduced them left to right. They all nodded and told her hello which included the mimicked mispronunciation of her name in their greetings.

"Hi, it's lovely to meet you all." Hermione promptly responded much more quiet than she would have liked, suddenly feeling a bit shy. She could not remember the last time she ever felt _timid_ around _anyone_.

* * *

Time had passed far more quickly than Hermione would have liked. It had surprised how easily she had gotten along with Viktor's friends. Despite being older than her they shared her interest in knowledge, well to a certain extent at least. They were vastly intrigued by a couple stories she told of her adventures with Harry and Ron, though some parts were edited for their ears.

"Hogwarts almost worse than Durmstrang. Many secrets it seems." Boris laughed and was quickly joined by the remainder of those sitting at the table.

Hermione mentally wondered what kind of creatures they had at Durmstrang. She realized over the last year that Hogwarts was quite diverse with all the beings it had but surely other places had creatures that were not here. She mentally noted to ask Viktor later.

"Oh, I have to be leaving now. Hogwarts' runs a tight ship on curfew." Hermione smiled and it took a moment before the Bulgarian students' eyes lit up with understanding of her small joke. Viktor shared a look with his friends but Hermione did not notice. She had waved to the four of them, though Viktor seemed to be lost in thought, and began to walk towards the exit.

Viktor had followed suit, haven risen from his chair shortly, which almost seemed to groan in relief as he did so. He caught up to Hermione right as she was about to open the door and no doubt let the chill of the outside into the warmed room.

"Would like to escort you back to the castle…if you don't mind since it's dark out now." Viktor had suddenly placed a hand on her shoulder, his request almost caught her off guard. She had turned around in time to hear his request.

"Oh, are you sure? What about your friends?" Hermione blinked surprised while she fidgeted with her fingers nervously.

"D'ey are fine with staying behind. I should head in anyways. Karkaroff will want me up early tomorrow." Viktor had a mock look of frustration and rolled his eyes as he opened the door to let Hermione pass through.

"Well alright. We won't even have to wait for a carriage, there's one now." Hermione had been staring into the distance for a moment when she decided to speak, even with the lamps lighting up the street the carriages could be hard to spot at times.

It took the two very little time to get to the carriage and the familiar snorts of the threstrals invaded their attention for a moment. When Hermione went to step into the carriage she felt a strange warmth surrounding her hand which caused her to pause suddenly. She looked to see it was Viktor's hand that had been the reason but he appeared to be helping her up into the carriage.

As Hermione took a seat she realized her breath had quickened and she could not fathom why that was the case. Sure it was rare that the boys at Hogwarts were helpful in cases like this but she had been helped onto the carriages before without feeling like this. There had been a twinge when she felt his hand on hers but buried the thoughts and feelings down when he sat down beside her.

Hermione was interrupted regardless when she was offered Viktor's oversized, brown coat. She had not realized it yet but she was absentmindedly rubbing the sides of her arm. Normally she donned a pink sweater but for some reason she could not find it that day. She figured she had misplaced it and the fact that it was warm when she left for Hogsmeade she had not given her short sleeved shirt a second thought.

Now that she _had realized_ what she had been doing she felt the chill in the area. It had gotten quite cold now that the sun had parted ways for the moon's arrival. It took her a moment to take the coat but she gave Viktor a nod of acceptance and he draped it over her shoulders. She could smell the outdoors and the faint scent of broom wax. It was not an awful combination but it was certainly interesting to her.

"I normally wear my sweater but I just couldn't find it today…I'm sorry you really didn't have to give me your coat. Won't you be cold?" The instinct in Hermione to care for others had kicked in momentarily, she was always looking after Harry and Ron in several ways so why would it be any different in this case.

"Will be fine. Much colder where Durmstrang is, we wear coats more out of habit?" Viktor had said the last bit slowly as if he was not sure if his choice of words was correct but when he saw Hermione had not questioned him on it he figured he had spoken right.

"Your coat is huge…you realize that?" Hermione slightly smiled as the warmth the coat brought her was quick to take hold, the material practically engulfed her in a gentle snuggle.

"Dah," Viktor paused to chuckle at her, "Not so much on me though. Suits you, makes you look…cute."

Hermione could not help but blush at his statement and looked towards the ground in hopes that the collar would hide her heated face. She snuggled further into the coat at this point now enjoying the warmth it brought. She had not expected the inside to be so soft.

There was a quiet interlude between them for a few minutes, one that was undeniably peaceful. It seemed to get even darker as they traveled from the town back to Hogwarts. There were still lamp illuminating the pathway but they were far and few between at this point.

"It was my younger sister." Hermione was not sure if she was full on dozing or was just daydreaming but she came to her senses quickly as the statement Viktor had said registered with her.

"Oh?" She turned towards Viktor, a look of concern gracing her face. When she spoke to him it was still very quiet.

"Was young when it happened, but she was much too young." She can see his lips set into a grim line after he spoke. There was a moment of quiet between them after this, only the rickety noises of the carriage wheels dared to interrupt their thoughts.

"She drowned in the lake where the family lives. Could not…get to her in time. I was ten, she was three. Very bad time." Viktor spoke with a strained voice and face, but Hermione understood why he appeared so.

Even though she was an only child she was sure if she had lost a sibling it would take its toll on her. She was momentarily unsure of what to say, though, and was unsure if she should say anything at all. Instead, she placed a hand over his, which was clenched, in a comforting way.

For a moment it did not matter that he was a famous quidditch seeker or that she was Hermione Granger, close friend to Harry Potter and the brightest witch of her age. She was merely someone, just as he, who sympathized with having lost a family member.

"It means a lot that you can tell me something like that. I can only imagine how hard it is to talk about it with someone."

The rest of the ride was set with a tone of comfortable silence and had left Viktor and Hermione with what appeared to be the start of a closer friendship.

Viktor had walked with her all the way up to the Gryffindor stairways. He was not smiling but she realized he did not need to be for her to know he was content. She had given back his coat before parting ways with him for the night. She realized that broom wax and grass turned out to be not that unpleasant of a blend when she realized the lingering scent had faded leaving her to wish it was still as prominent as before.

* * *

Just over a week had passed since Hermione's visit to Hogsmeade. She and Ron had reconciled from their little spat a mere four days later when Ron showed up and had begun talking to her as if nothing had ever happened.

Hermione, against her better judgement, did not bother to delve into what had happened further. Ron had claimed it was because he said he was just being silly but she knew deep down that it was because he would fail his classes otherwise. He did not even bother to give an actual apology to her. There was a part of Hermione began to resent Ron after that but she chose not to speak about the feeling aloud.

There were more important things to worry about. The first task was coming closer but Harry still had no clue of what he was up against and Hermione began to worry all the more. She had just finished her final class of the day which was Arithmancy, one she did not share with Harry or Ron.

Hermione was in no mood to see either of them and had avoided them all day at any costs. She had played messenger between the two for the past few days and it had gotten too much for her to handle after Ron told her to tell him a string of lies that involved Hagrid looking for Harry; well the latter bit was true but he had added on embellishment for when Hermione told Harry. She had felt utterly ridiculous afterwards and promptly snapped at both.

" _I'm not an owl!" Hermione stared at Harry looking hurt. She turned right around and walked off shooting daggers at Ron as she passed as well. The only one who was not be subject to her forming wrath was Ginny._

At first she had been well on her way towards the library but after a second thought that if either were looking for her they would have checked there for her right off the bat. Instead she chose to head outside towards the black lake. It was a secret to everyone that Hermione had often come, usually when there were few present, to the shoreline of the black lake to clear her head when the walls of the library could not.

As soon as she her feet hit the gravel and sand, their familiar crackle beneath her shoes becoming apparent, she felt just a bit more at peace. The lake was not frozen yet but she was sure when December hit it would be well on its way then. Until then she could enjoy the noise the water produced when it sloshed against the rocks.

Having been lost in thought, an iron grip on her books, she stumbled backwards when she ran into someone. Her iron grip had prevented her notes and class work from flying elsewhere, thankfully. Unfortunately, however, she had fallen right on her bottom with quite a surprised look on her face. She blinked in a startled fashion coming to terms with what had suddenly happened.

"Her-mayo-nin?" When Viktor spoke Hermione's head shot up like a rocket and she mouthed the word 'sorry' to him. He extended a hand to her and she took it gratefully before she pulled her up. She had noticed his pronunciation of her named had changed slightly. Hermione thought he might have been trying to practice the way he said it.

"Walk with me?" Viktor asked after was sure Hermione was well on her feet and no injury had occurred to her. She gave her skirt a good dusting, looked up to him, and blinked.

"Oh, sure." Hermione responded and the two began to walk further down by the lake. He had given a look to his trailing fangirls, who she was not overly excited to see, and most had run off. She was sure most had just sighed dreamily and hid behind some random bush so they would not be seen.

"You were deep in thought again? What about?" Viktor had asked after a moment.

"Oh nothing, just thinking about how boys can be such idiots." Hermione said without a second thought and accompanied it with a great big eye roll.

"As someone who was once boy I can confirm we act so." Viktor looked amused at her and Hermione had a good laugh at his comment.

* * *

"What have you got there Ginny?" Hermione plopped down beside Ginny, the couch creaked as she did so. She saw her friend flipped through a sleek, very skinny looking picture-like book.

"Oh it's from dad. He sent us this calendar he found. Look at all the cats! Aren't they adorable?" Ginny had opened the calendar to the current month and Hermione half-eyed the current day's date, _the eighteenth._

She mentally sweated thinking about the upcoming task that Harry was going to face. Just last week he had informed her that each competitor was going to face a dragon and she had been stressing ever since. She had read up on all four dragon breeds viciously and had done her best to educate Harry on what would be the bet routes depending on what dragon he might get.

" _A dragon is dangerous to begin with but a nesting one…are they out of their minds? That's horribly dangerous." Hermione cried out, her body almost going pale and slack when Harry had pulled her aside to discuss just what he had found out from Hagrid. She knew that this tournament was designed to test the competitors and it was meant for those who were about to graduate but she was still floored._

 _A dragon would be tough to beat. She thought back to when Harry had told them their only clue was that this would test their daring. Combined with Hagrid spilling that they would need to get passed them. She had only assumed then that they would be doing something that would infuriate the dragon. Resolved to help as best she could, she had made a plan so Harry could be taught counter-dragons spells._

"Oh yes, very adorable Ginny but not as good as Crookshanks." Hermione had giggled towards Ginny who proceeded to stick her tongue out in response.

"Oh you're always partial to him, it's not fair." Ginny rolled her eyes and flipped the sheet onto to the next page to see what December's picture might be.

* * *

Oh my! Tell me what you guys thought of this chapter and what do you think happened Hermione's sweater?

Also, thank you for reading and as usual reviews and favorites are always welcome!


	5. Lullaby

**Word Count:** 5,213

 **A/N:** Enjoy the fifth chapter and be sure to leave a review on how the story is progressing so far!

* * *

 _Chapter v – Lullaby_

 _they said the anchor would keep you steady, keep you from drifting away. they realized the anchor would pull you down, down, down to your death but they didn't realize you would begin anew._

* * *

"Enuciate correctly Harry! _Ah-gwa_ -men-tay. Not Ah-qwa." Hermione reprimanded Harry with a frown. She realized that it was barely a week till the first challenge so she dragged her best friend down to the black lake where they started practicing immediately. They were in an area that was close to the Durmstrang ship and its dock. Hermione figured that this would not be an issue for them. Currently the two were working on a spell that propelled a blast of water wherever the caster chose to point their wand.

Hermione had always worked best near the water if the library was not available and for this particular activity there was no way the library would let them soak down the books. Almost the entire night was spent reading up on spells that might work in defense against a dragon. She figured that since most dragons breathed fire it would not hurt for Harry to learn a dousing-type spell to stop the dragon's fiery breathes. Of course for this to work Harry would actually have to master the spell and get his wand to spit out more than a water gun's feeble capability.

"Remind me again how spraying the dragon with mere water is going to help me _not die_. I've only gotten it right twice." Harry sighed as they trained for the past two hours and the best he could conjure was enough to annoy the dragon at best. He understood that they were pressing his ability and quickness to learn but come the following he was a goner without anything.

"Honestly Harry…Dragon breathe fire. You use Water. Water get rid of fire. Get the picture?" It was rare for Hermione to make a joke and deep down she had known Harry needed it so she put her bossy nature aside when she had spoken. Harry looked up to her, at first he thought she was going to lead into a lecture but it was his turn to be surprised. Neither of them fought the laugh that had made its way between them, they had both needed it. There was a silence between the two, only the water crashing against the aged logs of the dock making any noticeable sounds to interrupt.

"Right, right. I'll try one more time, okay?" Harry responded feeling slightly renewed for some reason. It had been a while since it had just been he and Hermione and it made him feel happy on the inside because he cherished their friendship.

"Good...and I'm sorry. I'm just irritable because I was up all night. You've got this, okay? Think hard and think powerful. The more you concentrate the bigger and better the outcome." Hermione did her best to instill a bit of confidence within her friend. She watched as he walked forward towards the shoreline, mere inches from where the water was rubbing against the gritty sand and rock.

" _Aguamenti!_ " Harry yelled forth with newfound confidence that Hermione was astounded of the power produced from him. He had taken a minute to say the spell but it appeared to be worth it. A surge of powerful water burst from his wand at an alarming rate and into the distance ahead of them. Harry had been pointing his unstable wand into the air at an angle so the water surged into the sky almost. Harry had been smiling wildly before Hermione had yelled at him.

"Harry! Point it elsewhere or stop, you're aiming at the dock!" Hermione went wide eyed as the flurry of water heaved forth even though Harry had no longer been fueling the spell. He must have put forth quite the effort that it had continued even after his wand no longer produced the thick train of liquid. She watched as the water gushed into the dock and as a result the _only_ poor soul in its wake tumbled straight into the water.

"…Er…oops?" Harry frowned as he swiped his head to the side to see her looking disapprovingly at him. He immediately looked back at the area the person had fallen in at and suddenly saw a head break the surface. _Whoever_ had fallen in was looking straight at them before they began to swim for the nearby ladder.

"I knew we shouldn't have practiced this close... _and where do you think you're going?_ " Hermione blurted out, a minor flare of fury gracing her face as she saw had begun to slink off. He immediately froze and turned back around.

"We need to go see if they're okay. Come on already Harry." Hermione grabbed the sleeve of Harry's uniform and dragged him toward the dock. It did not appear to be that far of a walk and Hermione's inner nurturing nature was showing through so Harry did not choose to argue further. He did not want Hermione's wrath against him anyways.

* * *

"Wait! We're really sorry about getting you knocked into the lake and-" Hermione and Harry had barely caught up with the mystery person. They were obviously Durmstrang from the build and the haircut, not that anyone else would be lingering on the docks, but they only saw their back as they had begun to walk towards the ship. When the person turned around Harry heard Hermione gasp and when he took a chance to look down his face showed confusion at her. The fourteen year old watch as his friend's face turned a faint shade of pink.

"Viktor?" Hermione had called as the person, who had looked all too familiar to Harry and the name even more, walked nearer. As he stopped in front of them, his soaked clothes clinging to his body from his recent dip in the lake.

"Her-mayo-knee? Dat was you two?" Viktor cocked his head sideways, rather curiously. He proceeded to wipe the water from his mouth that seemed to continue to trail there.

"Sort of…we were just practicing some spells. We didn't mean for you to get into the crossfire of it is all." Hermione looked down sheepishly. She was entirely embarrassed by the situation and almost regretted making Harry come to apologize.

"Yeah…I'm, uh, really sorry about that. Didn't think it'd be that powerful." Harry awkwardly interjected himself into the conversation for the first time and Viktor immediately looked to him and kept his eye contact. Their almost seemed to be a faint smile.

"No problems here. Did good job on the spell at least, very powerful if you made it all the way to the dock." Viktor shook his head good naturedly and Harry could almost feel the figurative weight on his back lift away instantly.

"I'm Viktor." Harry was not sure if Viktor could tell he had been a bit nervous but it had practically melted away at the introduction. He noted the extension of his hand towards him.

"Harry." He closed the gap between their hands and accepted the handshake. Nothing less than he expected, the pro quidditch player had quite the strong grip.

"So, you two already know each other?" Harry questioned with an innocent type of curiousness that fueled his question. Of all people Hermione had made a friend with, the least he had expected would have been with Viktor Krum.

"Something like that." Hermione quickly responded and Viktor had dismissed himself from their sudden meeting. He had preferred to get changed before the chill in the air became annoying against his damp skin.

The two had gotten close to the Hogwarts' courtyard when Harry spoke up again with a light laugh, "Didn't think you would have made friends with the Durmstrang so quickly."

"I've only really made friends with Viktor…" Hermione trailed off but found the courage to speak again, "I know he's your competitor but he hasn't tried to ask me about you at all I promise. I just think he's a bit lonely especially to be speaking with someone like me but he makes for nice company."

"Don't talk about yourself that way Hermione, anyone would be lucky to have you as their friend, and I don't think you'd sell me out like that. Not when you're the only one who believes I _really_ didn't put my name in the goblet." Harry frowned at the way Hermione's voice when quiet. He was silently glad that Ron was not here for this and whenever Ron came to his senses he was definitely going to leave the bit about Hermione and Viktor being friends _out of it_. He could not even imagine how his friend would react to Viktor being friends with Hermione over him.

"Alright, alright. Do you want to head to the great hall for dinner? I'm absolutely starving." Hermione nodded with a small smile before she directed the conversation in a different direction. Harry eagerly nodded with no vocal reply.

"Oh and don't forget, I want to at least go over some more of the spells I found either tonight or tomorrow." Hermione added on after she thought about it.

"We'll have to do it tomorrow, Moody said he wanted to see me after dinner. Not sure why, it's a bit odd of him but I should just go and get it over with." Harry sighed. All he wished was just to be less confused than he was now. So many thoughts occupied his mind that just did not know what he was going to do about anything these days.

"Hmm, alright but let me know if anything happens okay?"

"Ok Hermione."

* * *

The day that followed was far less uneventful than the previous for Harry and Hermione. They were both in the library neck deep in books and Harry as quite sure he would have a thick layer of dust coating him by the end of the session.

"I don't know, isn't there some type of spell to make the dragon, you know, less dangerous?" Harry questioned to Hermione as he aimlessly flicked through the pages of the book, _Spells to Save You in a Bind,_ in his hands. Hermione simply gave him a pointed look for his pointless question.

"That'd be like getting me to stay out of trouble wouldn't it?" Harry added on after catching wind of the way Hermione had chosen to look at him.

"Pretty much," Hermione went back to skimming her own book before stopping again with an odd look in her eye, "Well I suppose you could try a switching spell. That wouldn't be very practical I think unless you switched its fangs for…wine-gums perhaps?"

Harry snorted at her suggestion and knew that it was out the question.

"Regardless we'll have to be picky about what spells we chose because dragon hide is very resistant and hard for spells to go through. Your shot would have to be extremely precise." Hermione chided with her afterthought and rolled her eyes when Harry sent her the same exact look she had given him not moments earlier.

"Alright, alright I'm just being honest." Hermione sighed and watched Harry slump further down in his seat.

"Stupefy isn't going to work either. You'd need an entire group of people just to take the damn thing down." Harry mumbled halfheartedly. He lifted his hand to sweep the fallen hair that was just over his eyes.

"Well duh," Hermione responded but glanced to Harry out of the corner of her eye who was still looking hopeless, "But how did you know that? You aren't one to just know random things about dragons at random."

She could see him mulling over something before he sat up abruptly, "Let's just say when I _saw_ the dragons I got a front row preview of everything."

" _Harry you were that close!?"_ Hermione seethed, a great big frown on her face now. Harry waved this off however, though he winced at the way she reacted when he let more details about his visit with the dragons slip than he intended.

"Nothing happened to me you know that. Focus on the bigger picture because I think I know a spell that I _will_ need to know. Moody told me that I should play to my strengths and he insinuated that flying on my broom was the key."

"That's true…you're amazing on a broom but you wouldn't be able bring it into the field would you?" Hermione responded, deep in thought, as she tried to work out all the possible scenarios of why this would be a plausible theory.

"No…but I am allowed my wand. Hermione, would you be able to teach me the summoning charm?" Harry did not delayed his request any further. He was sure his friend could catch onto the plan at this point as well.

"Oh…you want to call your broom into field so you can outfly…the dragon? That's crazy dangerous Harry!" Hermione bit her lip looking worriedly at Harry.

"Well it's better than being stranded in the arena to play rag doll. C'mon Hermione please, it can't be that hard can it?" Harry pleaded as he plopped his arms onto the table which stirred the dust that had grown still. Hermione sneezed not a moment later but she looked Harry square in the eyes.

"Of course I'm going to teach you, that doesn't mean I won't be worried, besides what would a year at Hogwarts be without you and crazy dangerous stunts?" Hermione smile good-naturedly, hoping that would lighten the mood. Harry smiled back and her while he watched her stand from the chair.

"Well? Don't just sit there we can start with all these books. You're going to have to use the word _Accio_." She gestured towards the pile of books on the table, some open while others were closed, with a certain sparkle in her eyes.

* * *

"Hermione! I've definitely gotten the charm down." Harry walked fast-paced to his friend, eagerly sitting beside her during their breakfast hour.

"Is that right? I'm so proud, you've done quite wonderfully the past couple days." Hermione smiled at him before going back to eating her jam and toast. Harry scooped a good portion of eggs onto his place and grabbed a slice of buttered toast. The two ate in welcomed silence, their meal so delicious that neither felt the urge to interrupt with words. A few minutes passed before Harry chose to break it.

"Oh Hermione, I was just wondering…why does Ron have your sweater?" Harry watched as she stopped cold mid-bite and her eyes progressed into that of a confused look.

"Er…pardon? What do you mean he has my sweater? I lost it at the beginning of the month right before I went to Hogsmeade and haven't seen it since." Hermione finished the bite of food in her mouth and proceeded to frown. She wondered when Ron had found it, perhaps he had come across it the last few days and had avoided giving it to her because she had helped out with Harry lately.

"Yeah I saw it sitting on his trunk in our room. You can go and ask him about it if you want, I'll be fine by myself. It looks like he's getting ready to leave anyways." Harry gestured through the look of his eyes towards Ron who was getting up from the table. Hermione merely nodded and finished the last few bite of toast and took a nice sip of her pumpkin juice to wash it down. She waved to Harry before running off.

Hermione did not catch up to Ron till she jogged down the left corridor from the great hall. She had called out to him and he turned around without fail, a nice smile accompanying his face.

"Hey 'Mione, what's up?" Ron seemed earnestly curious as to what Hermione had called out to him for.

"I, uh, heard through the halls that you found my sweater? I'd really love it back since it's my favorite and all." Hermione looked to him expectantly, though her features reverberated nothing but pleasantness towards the red head. She watched as he went wide eyed, though it was only noticeable for a split second.

"Er…oh yeah! I found it on the carriage when we went to Hogsmeade, I haven't really gotten a chance to give it to you since you've been hanging out with...Harry." Ron responded sheepishly, rubbing his hand against the back of his shaggy hair.

"…I guess that makes sense. Would you have time before class to grab it or would later work?" Hermione looked quite eager to have her favorite article of clothing back in her possession.

Ron and Hermione headed back to the Gryffindor Common Room after that where Hermione was reunited with her sweater. She had proceeded to give Ron a hug as her appreciation for keeping it safe and he had left almost immediately because he was going to be late for morning detention with Snape, not class like Hermione had assumed.

It's only later that night when Hermione had a realization that hit her dead on. Something had struck her silly when she remembered how Ron told her she lost her sweater on the carriage to Hogsmeade. It was only a moment later that she recognized she had lost it the day _before_. Ron had _lied_ straight to her face and she had no earthly clue as to why he had done so. A new set of questions had surged forth in her mind.

 _Why did he really keep her sweater for that long? Did he even intend to give it back to her?_

It was a deeply kept secret, one that _only_ Hermione knew, that kind of fancied Ron. She did not dare tell a soul, not even Ginny. Lately though, with the way he behaved she was strongly reassessing her crush on him. He had acted quite weirdly since the summer and it had started to un-nerve her greatly.

Despite how much this irked her, and doubt would irk her in the days to come, she was forced to put her worried curiosity aside. She had only just made up with Ron and she certainly did not need to spark another fight amongst them, especially with the first task only days away. She needed to be more focused on the challenge Harry was facing.

* * *

The remaining days until the twenty-fourth passed by far quicker than Hermione would have liked but she knew the sooner the day got there the quicker the first task would be over. She was feeling stressed beyond belief as she thought of when Harry had been called away to prepare for the first task.

Since it was the weekend and there were no classes for the day she spent the morning coddling Crookshanks. Being the loyal half-kneazle he was, Crookshanks took the over-affection in stride. He had escaped eventually, however, in search of his food dish and left Hermione to seek distraction elsewhere.

It was hours later that Hermione ventured from the castle like most of the school, the task would be beginning within the hour and she was not going to miss it for anything. She sought out a different path, however, one that led her to the champion's tent. The tent was large and covered by several decorated burlap-looking sheets which surely would have billowed outwards if the wind had been any stronger.

There was a series of rocks clustered together that Hermione was headed toward and proceeded to delicately place down the wrapped object that was in her hands beside them. She slid the covering off which revealed Harry's Firebolt. After making sure all was in place she headed towards the tent once more.

Hermione could see the silhouette of someone pacing right beside the inside border of the tent. She lingered closely for a moment before she pressed her hand against the makeshift wall softly.

"Harry?" Hermione whispered harshly through the sheet accompanied by a tone that was more worried sounding than anything, "Is that you?"

"Yeah." Out of habit Harry nodded shakily though Hermione did not see this very clearly."

"How are you feeling?" Hermione trailed off and when Harry did not verbally respond she continued, "The key is to concentrate…after that you just have to-"

"Battle a dragon." Harry finished the statement he had interrupted rather calmly. There was still a perplexed look in his eyes and after a moment he was bombarded by Hermione shoving the sheet away and hugging him strongly enough to send him to the mediwitch before the first task even started. There was a loud _snap_ and a bright _flash_ that interrupted them.

Hermione pulled away from the hug, blinked, and watched as none other than Rita Skeeter entered through another part of the tent, her notebook and over excitable quill floating after her.

"Young love, how… _stirring._ " She drawled on, though she took a moment to mark her words down carefully in the notepad and continued on talking as if what she spouted had a shred of meaningful evidence. Hermione knew she was up to nothing good and practically fumed on the inside, ready to argue with the horrid woman. She was beat to the punch however.

"You have no business here, this tent is for champions…and friends." Viktor had interjected and stepped closer to the vile woman. He looked rather perturbed but it faded back to an uncaring look. He had spared a very short glance towards Hermione but she was focused on Rita.

"No matter, I've gotten what I came for." Rita remarked offhandedly and flicked her hand in the air which dissolved her notes and quill into thin air. She practically stalked out of the tent with the cameraman who flashed a quick picture of Viktor as well before he too left in pursuit of an exit.

Fleur and Cedric were hanging a bit farther back at this point no doubt they had tried to avoid getting their picture taken by the reporter who always seemed to layer lie upon lie of her subjects. Viktor, however, had stepped closer to both Hermione and Harry. He nodded towards Hermione and though it was not evident on the outside he was quite eager to have seen Hermione before the tournament as he had not expected her to be there.

"Be careful okay? Good luck." Hermione spoke softly, almost too quietly. She did not direct it to a specific boy but deep down she meant it to both. She looked up giving a short smile while she looked to Viktor that nobody but the two of them noticed. With that she left the tent before anyone else found out she was there, technically speaking it was against rules for her to be there as well. Viktor had simply covered for Hermione with Rita to alleviate further allegations on the girl.

* * *

Hermione would have liked to have said she was not as affected by Viktor's turn against the dragon but she was. Of course, for Cedric and Fleur she had the basic amount of concern, Hermione did not want anyone to get hurt, but while Viktor evaded the wrath of the Chinese fireball's flames she almost found herself on the edge of her seat. She had sat with Ron and gripped his arm accordingly.

When Viktor cast the conjunctivitis curse on the dragon she remarked how they was actually a rather smart move but when he almost got stomped to death instead of the dragon's eggs she wanted to reconsider. He had snagged the golden egg and the crowd roared for him. She knew he would probably lose points for the eggs that had been crushed but it was worth it simply for the fact he had gotten on without injury.

"Ow Hermione, loosen up, you've got a death grip on my arm. Why are you so on edge?" Ron frowned, rubbing the area that Hermione had previously. She had not realized she had done so and looked at him shamefacedly.

"Oh, sorry Ron I'm just nervous is all. That was quite a wild dragon wouldn't you say?" Hermione spoke a half-truth towards the red-head. In truth she was worried, just not worried about the dragon as much as she found herself worried about Viktor.

"Yeah but Krum is the competitor. You shouldn't be so worried...he can take care of himself." Ron stared at her as if she had grown two heads. Hermione secretly wondered if Fred and George had been teasing him about his adoration for the quidditch seeker.

"I…I-" Hermione was caught off when the canon for Harry to enter sounded. She and Ron immediately dropped the conversation and watched as their friend timidly made their way out. The dragon took a moment but when it caught sight of him it had not been happy in the least. She hoped that he had called upon his broom by now.

There was a chorus of noise going throughout the stand but the dragon heard none of it due to the charming that had been done. The horntail was entirely focused on Harry, its roar overpowering the noise of the surrounding crowd. It was a sudden change in pace when she saw Harry quickly jump to his incoming broom.

Hermione's nerves skyrocketed as Harry played tag in the air with the dragon, evading its attempts at burning him alive or knocking him to the ground with its angry tail. He had managed fine so far in not getting hurt but she almost felt her heart stop when the tip of a blade on its tail sliced against his shoulder. There was a collective sigh of relief in the stands when he did not fall and hung onto, soaring just a bit higher into the air.

Within a matter of moments Hermione realized he was trying to goad the dragon even the slightest bit away from the eggs. She bit her lip as the dragon seemed to become more and more irate at his attempts. The spurts of heavy fire continued before she saw the dragon's wings spread as if it were going to make an attempt at Harry.

And then he dove hard. Hermione watched with wide eyes as he went down with a quick burst of speed. The dragon had not even realized what was coming and it had been the creature's downfall. Harry had grasp of the golden egg now and he soared out of range of the dragon happily, off to a safe area she presumed to be helped with now that the task was finally over.

Hermione cheered loudly along with the rest of her house and what appeared to be some of the other Hogwarts's houses. When she glanced to her left she could see Ron acted beyond happy that Harry had such a wonderful outcome. The two of them hurried off at that point to meet with him.

They found him quickly enough exiting the medical tent, Ron hurried almost as fast as Hermione but her legs carried her just a bit faster. When she caught sight of Harry she called out loudly for his attention.

"Harry! That was brilliant." She rushed towards him, closing any distance between them as she took his hands in her before she hugged him rather tightly, "You were amazing, you really were!"

Harry knew that Hermione had been stressing about what would end up happening during the first task and he was thankful to say he was not worse for wear and nothing truly harming towards him had occurred. He was safe, sound, and he even had the golden egg that would give him a good push towards the second task. His attention on her was short lived, however, when he noticed Ron who was looking rather pale after what he had witnessed.

"Harry. I…I…whoever put your name into the goblet, well they obviously have it in for you." Ron spoke earnestly as he seemed to finally adapt the attitude he should have had from the get go. Hermione stared wide eyed at the two boy's exchanges and in the end it left her shaking her head at them ridiculously.

"Are you serious? That's that? You two are so _stupid!"_ Hermione, overcome with emotion, quickly captured both boys in a group hug before she ran off to her own devices. This left both boys to discuss what Harry had missed while he had waited in the tent for his turn.

Hermione meanwhile had beamed when she saw that Harry was tied for first place, tied with none other than Viktor. Perhaps they would be able to handle everything after all.

* * *

It had rained the following day and Hermione felt the halls were crowded especially since there were no classes for the day as well, they had been granted an unscheduled three-day weekend. She immediately went into the library after lunch to read a bit of her muggle-written books for enjoyment. Rather engrossed in her book she did not jump when the seat beside her became taken by a largely sized Bulgarian. He wore a long sleeved, dark grey shirt that was barely stained by the droplets of water when he made the trek through the rain when it was merely a drizzle.

"Will you tell me what happens in book?" Viktor questioned her in hopes of dragging her mind out the book and it worked when she casually look up with a smug smile.

"I don't do spoilers Viktor. You'll have to read it yourself to find out." Hermione chuckled lightly as she stuck her bookmark into place and closed the book. She pulled down the sleeves of her sweater almost immediately afterwards, she had rolled them up because the library had felt muggy to her. Now it was getting to be chilly again. This made her quite thankful she had pulled her hair into a bun albeit a messy one.

"Ah I see." Viktor nodded as she slid the book in his direction, "But you are reading it now, no?"

"Oh I'll be fine without it, I've read it plenty times to know it word for word. Take as long as you need to read it." Hermione presented him with a large, bright smile and his eyes softened in response. Viktor took the book without further question.

"I'm…glad that you didn't get hurt in the tournament yesterday. I saw you were tied for first with Harry as well, you did a wonderful job." Hermione was not sure why she felt the need to express so but there was a tugging in the back of her mind to say so and she could not ignore it any longer. She cut herself off, though, before she started to mindlessly babble in any shape or form to Viktor.

"Thank…you much Her-myo-nine. Wish Karkaroff would have acted that way, was much mad at me for running some of the eggs." Hermione almost snorted at his response but she felt slightly sad at what he said. Viktor taken first nonetheless, regardless of being a tie, in the first task so one would think a headmaster would be proud of that accomplishment. She had heard rumors throughout the halls lately about Karkaroff and none of them were too pleasant. Viktor did not seem to be stuck in a mode where he mindlessly followed around his headmaster, he only met with him when the need called for it.

"He should feel proud of what you've accomplished in the first task."

* * *

Thank you so much to those who are continuing to follow the story and those who have just found out about Bread Krums. As always, reviews and favorites are always welcome as well as appreciated!


	6. Ordinary People

**Words:** 5,513

 **A/N:** Okay I think you guys are really gonna like this chapter! Also, I have the seventh chapter almost finished but it's going to be like 7k words long? Will that bother you guys? It's going to include the Yule Ball. After the seventh chapter is posted, well, I don't know when my next update will be. I have a lot on my plate and a lot of distractions and it may be a few weeks. I just need time to relax and focus on writing and not on a deadline. Don't fear about this story being forgotten, because that is _not_ going to happen!

* * *

 _Chapter vi – Ordinary People_

 _are you aware that you are you and I am I? that we are just two souls trying to get a grip in the world and that's all we will ever need to be._

* * *

Hermione had never felt more embarrassed in her life, tears had threatened to fall from her eyes as she thought back to what had just happened to her. Malfoy had been trying goad her by offering her one of the forgotten _Potter Stinks_ pins now that no one really wanted to use them anymore. He had even dared to call her a _mudblood._ Then she had felt anger but she kept it hidden as she wished not to fall into Malfoy's ploy.

Harry, however, had just about enough and had drawn his wand on the blond. Before she knew it she had been hit by Malfoy's curse which had ricocheted off of Harry's. Her teeth had become overgrown and combined with the laughter from nearby Slytherins she almost broken down then and there. When Snape appeared only moments later and talked is there were _no difference_ from her usual appearance she ran, the carefully built wall to fight those against her had crumbled.

Hermione could not take it anymore. She felt so awful after the comment. In honesty, she wanted to hide in her room but she knew she needed to report to hospital wing so that Pomfrey could fix her growing problem. While the matron shrunk her teeth Hermione made the devious choice to allow the nurse wizard to shrink them so much that they were just the right size. Hermione realized her teeth would no longer be an issue to which she tried to find even the smallest bit of comfort in.

Pomfrey had forced her to stay within the confines of the hospital wing for the remainder of the day just to make sure there were no hidden repercussions of Malfoy's spell, and so she spent the rest of the day lost in her thoughts where she wondered why people behaved so cruel. Hermione had spent hours in a trance-like state and questioned if she was truly ugly, questioned if people only really saw her for her bushy hair, teeth that were ever so slightly oversized and know-it-all personality.

Hermione laid down onto the bed and closed her eyes. A tear escaped as she clenched them shut in sadness. She did her best to fall asleep as quickly as possible, the faster she fell asleep, the faster she could escape her negative thoughts. Soon enough she did drift off, having forgotten anything else she had planned for the day.

* * *

Harry and Ron were in the great hall where they had come down for dinner. Hermione's absence from the table was noticed but after receiving a lecture from Madam Pomfrey earlier on the girl's need for rest they had left half-heartedly. No doubt the lady had decided to have her kept until the next day. While the two were slightly put off by this it would not solve their hunger pains.

Right before they left the looming of a presence behind them was noted. Ron almost flinched in response due to the many times Snape had whacked him on the head from behind but when he turned around he was caught quite off guard. Harry was as well but less so than his best friend. Viktor stood tall as the two had come to face him, an unknown book in his hand.

"Do you know where Her-mayo-knee is? Was supposed to meet her before supper but she did not…show." Viktor asked casually, raising a brow as Ron stared back peculiarly at him. Harry simply shook his head.

"She's, uh, stuck with the nurse in the hospital wing for the rest of the day." Harry responded without the full reason of why; he figured that Hermione would rather he did not spread her business to anyone just yet though he figured Malfoy would do it eventually. He noticed Viktor frowned greatly when he said that, looking extremely displeased.

"She'll be fine, just a mix up with some spells." Harry added on quickly so that there would not be any detailed questions. Viktor stared at him for another moment before he offered the book that was in his hand towards Harry.

"Will you give this to her then?" Viktor questioned as Harry took the book and looked at it. He recognized it as one Hermione often carried around. He was not sure how Viktor had come across the book but he realized that it was not his business to know.

"Sure." Harry sent the Durmstrang student a smile and received a sharp nod in response.

"Thank you." With that Viktor left the great hall accompanied by other Durmstrang students sporting similar Loud thumps emitted from their shoes as they met the hard floor and rang out in a concise beat to the ears of the other students.

* * *

The book had changed hands once more before it actually got to Hermione. Ginny had received it from Harry who had given her a simple explanation that Viktor requested it be returned to their mutual friend. Ginny had obliged happily, a bout of nervousness in her step after talking with her crush.

It was nearing curfew when Hermione showed up to her room. She truly looked like she could use a nice night of sleep within her own bed. Ginny smiled and welcomed her roommate back asking in a careful but comforting tone about what had happened.

"Malfoy's tricks as usual. I swear I'm going to make that punch I gave him last year look like a friendly tap on the shoulder one day." Hermione scowled as she sat on Ginny's beg, her legs were crisscrossed. Each girl was dressed in their appropriate wear for sleep but they decided to talk a bit before heading to bed.

"I'll be right behind you on that. Don't worry he'll get what's coming to him." Ginny put her hand on Hermione's shoulder in an act to show that she supported her friend, "You know you look…different but not in a bad way."

Hermione simply gestured to her teeth and Ginny gasped in response, her hand immediately shot up to cover her gaping mouth.

"You did not! Oh Hermione, don't think you weren't worthy before. Just because your teeth are a bit smaller now doesn't mean you weren't just as pretty before."

"I know, I know but it just made sense okay? I'm always looking out for Ron and Harry and it just made sense to do something for myself no matter how trivial it was. I'm tired of being picked on." Hermione crossed her arms before the two of them giggled. They truly were quite the pair of girls.

"Oh! I almost forgot. Harry told me that _Viktor Krum_ wanted to give this back to you." Ginny outstretched her arm to grab the used book from the table and tossed it at Hermione who barely caught the object before it landed in her lap. Ginny looked as if she were waiting to hear some big, detailed story about how Viktor came to have a book that she owned.

"Oh no! I forgot that I was supposed to meet him today after everything that happened…I hope he's not upset with me." Hermione was startled as she smoothed her hands over the book's cover. She had completely forgotten Viktor had sent her a note to meet her in the library to return the book. Part of Hermione figured he would not be upset with her, he just did not appear to be that sort of person to have rash emotions. He did not seem to be a person to jump the gun, _like Ron would_. When Ginny snickered it broke Hermione out of her revelry.

"Oh just go to bed so you can dream about Harry. Viktor was intrigued by the book so I let him borrow it. Though he did finish it rather quickly…" Hermione trailed off as if she were in deep thought with her own mind. Ginny snapped her fingers and Hermione rolled her eyes before she climbed off the bed and into her own. In a split second the lights in the room dimmed to be almost nonexistent.

"You know you'll eventually have to tell me what I've been missing out on with you."

"Night Ginny."

"You can't hide anything from me Hermione Granger."

" _Night Ginny."_

"You know it's okay if you're not crushing on Ron anymore. I could understand why."

"GINNY!" Hermione stared wide eyed into the darkness, left to wonder how Ginny knew about her small crush. She turned over in the bed uncomfortably, unable to find a position she felt comfortable in.

"Night Hermione."

At one point in her life Hermione would have been able to fall asleep after that, left to live vicariously through her dreams until the next morning reared its ugly head. This time she felt off. _Was she even still crushing on her friend?_ She didn't feel giddy like she used to when the subject of him appeared. She mentally frowned before she turned on her side and closed her eyes.

* * *

"The Yule Ball, a traditional part of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, is coming up quickly. Only those fourth year and above will be allowed to attend, unless of course you choose to invite someone of a younger age." Professor McGonagall announced to the large group of Gryffindors who had currently gone from quiet and attentive to a room full of harsh whispers accompanied by half of said room who sounded like giggling idiots. If Minerva had to find fault for the latter half she would have called the girls out on the latter mentioned behavior. Though she was not particularly pleased with the boys' expressions and mannerisms at the notion of a ball.

A ball meant dressing up, acting formal, and meant you had to be on your best behavior. Many of the Hogwarts' boys were not particularly acquainted with such behavior. The Hogwarts' professor sighed before she commanded the room's full attention again. They all knew, regardless of how deep down, that she was not a witch to be trifled with.

" _Ahem_ , continuing on, dress robes will be _required_ for this event. The ball will commence on Christmas Day at eight o'clock sharp and end at midnight in the Great Hall." The familiar teacher to all spoke in an informed tone to them and she took time to ensure that all the students understood that while the Yule Ball was a time for all those attending to have fun they still needed to keep a shred of self-preservation about themselves.

Hermione, in half-thought, swore she saw McGonagall side-eyed the Weasley twins and their younger brother. She, too, was sure if anyone could tarnish the reputation of the house of Gryffindor it would be them. However, the remainder of her thoughts were strangely consumed by the Yule Ball itself. She was never keen on events such as this and normally hung back when she was younger but now she was a bit older.

Contrary to entirety of the school's population, save for a few understanding souls, Hermione was not entirely consumed by books or overcome by the thought of having to know _everything._ Sure she was a bit more like that in her first and second year but she had grown up quite a bit since then even though two years seemed like nothing. Despite her best efforts the insecurities that grew during that year seemed to grip hold harder than ever. After all, _who would ask her?_

Woken from her thoughts she was met with the site of a squirming Ron who was looking quite uncomfortable. McGonagall had decided to use him as an example of the entry dance for the Yule Ball. He looked quite mortified to be dancing with one of his professors which caused Hermione to have forgotten any of her previous thoughts and join in with the childish laughter of her classmates.

The remainder of the class was a bit odd for her. They had all been assigned random partners to practice with, McGonagall's tone guided them through each step as best as possible. Most of the class had probably stepped on more toes during that one session than in their entire life. Hermione was a bit embarrassed that she did not easily pick up on the step as she would have liked though her practice partner, Dean Thomas, was not quite so quick on his toes either.

Hermione left the class rather frustrated and continued on to her double potions in quite the foul mood. Perhaps she would just skip the entire thing and spend Christmas at home with her parents if they agreed. Even if she did that it would not excuse her from the weekly dance lessons McGonagall had assigned for the Gryffindors to ensure they were adequately prepared for the Yule Ball.

* * *

The first two weeks of December had flown by and before Hermione could realize it was already the 16th. She had spent that time preparing for the end of exams that would occur at the end of the following week. The girl was almost so consumed with her studies that she had forgotten about the Yule Ball and the lack of attention it brought to her.

Deep down Hermione had vowed not to let it affect her but deep down she was still a 15-year old girl with secret hopes and wishes. She wished for those around to see her for more than just a cheat for homework or a girl with frizzy hair.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat in the Gryffindor commons room discussing their different troubles, well it was mainly Harry and Ron. They were mainly moaning about not having dates yet. Hermione rolled her eyes at their idiocy and figured they should just ask a girl, the worst that could happen was that they would be told no. It was not as if they would die if they got rejected.

Then they continued on and on and eventually complained about offers they _had_ received but turned down just because of minor features they did not prefer. Hermione shook her head in disbelief, closing her potions book rather loudly. This did not attraction attention from the two in the way she would have figured. Ron had looked up to her; it was very obvious the wheels in his head were turning.

"Hermione, you don't happen to know two girls that would go with us would you? Ones with slick hair and perhaps ones that are shorter than us?" Ron piped up to her, asking the question as if it were no big deal. Hermione's jaw went slightly slack at his ability to be overly blatant. With her lack of response and gaping mouth that proudly sported her newly, well slightly new, reformed front teeth she was met with an even more outrageous statement from the ever-hopeless red head.

"Say, your teeth look a bit different Hermione…" Ron trailed off trying to put two and two together. Hermione promptly closed her mouth. Her stare at Ron was particularly unnerving due to the non-emotive vibes it gave off. Just an empty, blank stare. Hermione secretly wanted to say she did it to match whatever was going on in Ron's mind all day long.

Instead of actually answering anything she stood up and briskly walked out of the common room with an echoing, "I'll see you two later."

Neither went after her.

* * *

Hermione had gone to the library like usual. Part of her wished that Ron would have been mindful enough to follow her and ask what was wrong with what he said. She knew he was not that smart though, at least not with her. She was surprised to see that Viktor was not at the library but then again they had not made plans to meet up, so at the same time it was not surprising to see he was not there.

Her mind distracted itself by the thoughts of how oddly he had acted the last few visits. Hermione's fingers entangled with themselves as she brought her meshed hands to cover her forehead while she thought back. Viktor _always_ seemed as if he wanted to ask her something, Hermione assumed it was important. There had been times when she wondered if it was something she could take offensively or something she might have trouble answering. He never seemed to gather the courage to get anything out in the open and between her studies and her constant watchfulness over Harry and Ron she never had the energy to delve into it.

Ten minutes passed before Hermione realized she was not going to get anymore studying done that night. Between the horrible the dance lesson had gone earlier that day, Ron's idiotic comments throughout the day, and her impending exams she was truly aggravated.

"Feeling frustrated friend?" Hermione did not turn when she heard the familiar voice of Viktor. She simply shrugged her head forward as if to acknowledge him.

"How'd you tell?" She replied dryly after a moment. Hermione had finally looked up to find her Bulgarian friend. There was a squint in his eyes when she noticed he had yet to take a seat next to her.

"Always cover forehead when mad or upset, now come d'is way." Viktor watched as her lips fell into a short frown before looking up in surprise. He wondered if she realized how often her friends sent her off into spirals of madness. When she rose from her seat as they walked through the bookshelves one at a time as if it were a maze. Hermione's arm encircled Viktor's arm as they walked though it looked as if her were escorting her.

Hermione had to admit that this had become a normal occurrence between the two within the two weeks. Viktor had suggested that walking around the area would soothe her irritations and it came true to pass for her. It did not hurt that Viktor did not mind being subjected to hearing the issues that landed her in such positions.

"Now tell what is wrong? What Weasel say d'is time?" Viktor could see Hermione roll her expressive eyes out the corners of his dark eyes. It was no mystery that her red-haired friend had done some rather off-putting things lately. He wondered if he had done this other years as well.

"Oh he just likes to complain about _not_ having a dateyet he's already rejected any offer he's received because they didn't fit his criteria." Hermione finished with a loud huff and a pout in her lips. Viktor's brow raised at this.

"Sound like idiot. I know he is friend but he is not very…concerned with feelings?" Viktor honestly did not understand the way the Weasley boy behaved. Sure he was still young but he acted far younger than his actual age with many of his actions hypocritical.

"Spot on. Their also making the Gryffindors take a weekly class to learn the waltzes of the Yule Ball so we don't _embarrass_ our house. It's not that I couldn't enjoy it, I'd very like to learn the dances, but it feels so forced when I dance with the people they assign and I've _surely_ not benefited from any of the classes. Heck, I don't even plan going to the ball because no one's going to ask me." Hermione ranted and when she had finished it did feel like a big weight had lifted from chest. She missed the playful smirk that had played from Viktor's mouth.

"Come for walk." Viktor tries to pull her towards the direction of the library's exit.

"Aren't we already walking? Where do you want to go?" Hermione asked confusedly as she followed his lead. They had proceeded to release their escort stance from earlier in case anyone had passed them in the hallway, which was sure to happen. Neither wanted to be hounded if caught by another student.

"Yes but just follow. Please."

* * *

Hermione noticed whatever glow the vanishing sun had left to the sky was quickly fading. When Viktor finally stopped her in what seemed to be a secluded area the sky was fully black. She looked up to fully appreciate the stars that had ventured from hiding in awe. She rarely found time to appreciate the outdoors but when there was time for her to do so she always wore a child-like smile. With the freshly fallen snow crunching beneath her feet she closed her eyes momentarily to take in what felt like her first breath of air in a long time.

In a moment, however, her eyes blinked open which was accompanied by an odd tilt of her head. At first it felt like a strange nip at her toes that quickly turned into the tugging at her waist and eventually led to a soothing warmth all over her body. Hermione glanced up to Viktor who stood in front of her but still faced in her direction. When she flashed him a curious smile he beckoned her closer.

It was then Hermione realized that the immediate area around them had been cleared of any snow fall when she felt the familiar _crunch_ of ice beneath her feet lacking and even the grass still had a green tinge with it as it seemed to spring up from its short slumber on earth. Viktor had chosen to shed his coat and she found her doing the same as the warmth around them grew just enough and seemed to have no signs of fading. They had discarded them a bit further away on a pair of large rocks.

"Used charms, like warming. D'is is okay?" Viktor questioned to Hermione and she merely nodded her head in response. She glanced around, almost out of habit, to find that there was no one who would disturb them, no fan girls or annoying friends.

"Perfectly fine Viktor. Might I ask why we're out here though?" Hermione questioned him because she had no inclination as to what was up. She was extremely curious, though, and wanted to find out his answer as soon as possible. Her arms folded together absent mindedly, tugging against the edges of her school sweater because she been so busy she had forgotten to change out of them. She noted that Viktor was still in his school uniform as well so she minded it less.

"We dance? Teach you for when boy asks you so you can dance night away wiff big smile, eh?" The way Viktor had responded there almost seemed to be a sense of giddiness in his tone and expression, something she had not been accustomed to seeing from him. Truth be told he was rather control with emotions, almost shy even. Hermione blushed at what he said as he thought she would be able to nab a date for the ball. _At least he had some sense of hope in her_.

"But there is no music to dance to Viktor." Hermione almost wondered what he was trying to get and part of her wondered if she had just pointed that out to avoid showing him how she danced. Viktor simply nodded his head to her in an agreeing fashion because she said had been the truth. She watched him reveal his wand, which appeared to be carved in an ornate-like fashion, and slide in through the air in a wispy motion to which he also accompanied by muttering a couple words.

"No excuses now dah?" Viktor playfully poked her side right as there was a familiar tone that graced their ears almost as if it had encircled them and decided to float through the air. It is almost instantly that she recognized it as the waltz Professor McGonagall had her class practicing for and she realized that she had finally been bested. It is meant to be the entry dance for the four champions, though other are meant to fall into place on the dance floor after the very beginning.

Viktor extended a hand to Hermione to which she took almost shakily. When Viktor placed a hand around her waist respectively she instinctually placed the free hand that remained against his shoulder. There were butterflies fluttering in her stomach and Hermione is not sure if they are due to never having danced with Viktor before, being on her own with him in such a setting, the way he was gently staring at her whilst guiding her into the correct steps for the playing waltz, or even a combination of the three.

The feelings in the pit of her stomach mellow out as the two glide about the designated area effortlessly for the next two formal songs. Hermione is quite surprised at how easy their attempts at dancing went versus how much trouble she seemed to have with her other partners.

"You were not that off, must give self more credit H-Her-mayo-nin." Viktor encouraged her and she chuckled sweetly at his attempt once again to pronounce her name. Hermione wondered if he was nervous, he had stuttered when he spoke it which he had never done before.

"Well I've had a much easier time dancing with you than I have with those in class, it's quite surprising…and don't worry you'll catch onto my name eventually I promise." The two exchanged gentle, warm smiles with one another. Hermione squeezed Viktor's hand as well when Viktor looked to the sky. They both realized it was getting a bit late now and they had gathered their coat so they would not be entirely unprepared when Viktor dismissed the warming spell he had placed.

The chill is quick to swirl around them, though not entirely unbearable. They make quick work of the walk back to the castle area with Hermione finding herself leaning into Viktor as they walked. Right as she went to grab the door's handle Viktor had stopped her. When Hermione turned to face Viktor wondering what he needed, the Durmstrang student's mouth seemed to halt before he could get a word out.

Viktor noticed her cheeks, rosy from the cold and the way her breath appeared for a split-second every so often. His gaze traveled up where he could see the tip of her nose which was flushed and her eyes were focused on him, only him. Hermione's hair seemed to frame against her face in that moment to accentuate her features. He realized that if he stood there breathless any longer she would begin to get suspicious. Hermione probably thought the cold had simply struck his vocal cords luckily.

"Is there something wrong Viktor?" Hermione questioned the taller being in front of her, her tone seemed to be assuming to him. He fidgeted by shifting his weight from one foot to the other. Viktor hoped that if his face had blushed she would assume it was the cold biting against his face.

"No…but d'ere is somet'ing I would like to ask of you if d'at is alright." Viktor responded to Hermione, his eye contact never faltering with her as soon as she had looked up to face him. He watched as she bit her lip and that was enough to send his emotions sky rocketing. He was slowly losing his nerve.

"Of course, you can ask me anything." Hermione was entirely unsure of what his request could be but she would do what she could to help him. There was that tingling feeling popping up in her gut again, as if just being able to help Viktor would melt her heart. She studied Viktor's face carefully as he seemed to be holding off on the question before there was an entire change in his demeanor but it appeared to be a pleasant one.

"I would love for you to accompany me to the Yule Ball, would you do d'at…Her-myo-knee?"

Of all things Hermione had expected being asked to the ball was last on her list, in fact it was not even on her list. The entirety of her mind went blank and she almost could not bring herself to answer, almost in deep confusion because surely this had to be some foreign dream. There was even a moment, a racing thought, that of all people he could have asked, how could it be her? Her internal responses were that she did not consider herself to be naturally pretty so neither would he or that his motives for asking her were elsewhere.

She stopped herself cold. Viktor had been nothing but genuine in his growing friendship with her and she held nothing but pleasant experiences from times with him since they met. She found herself become unfrozen from the initial shock and able to pull out a genuine smile for Viktor, a smile where her teeth showed and nothing in the world could knock her off her feet.

"I would really like that Viktor."

In that moment with Viktor, Hermione realized that it was okay for her to have an adventure of her own, away from Harry and Ron. That she could be allowed her own forms of happiness too. Viktor's shared expression of elation showed her that she would not regret her decision of acceptance.

He had chosen to escort her back to the winding staircases, leaving her with a soft kiss upon her knuckles and a swift bow. She had giggled and told him goodnight before she hurried up the stairway where she nearly fell into the bugged step. When she got back to the common room she saw a few Gryffindors which included Harry although he was getting ready to head up to his room. She bid him a goodnight as well.

Hermione had not even realized that Ron was nowhere to be seen. She had not even realized there had been a peaking face as Viktor had seen her back to her hall. She was too busy in her own, well deserved, excitement to notice.

* * *

When Hermione returned back to her room she was met with a rare sight. Ginny was currently curled up in her bed, quite early in fact, reading one of her books. She shed her coat atop of her trunk casually, where she felt the warmth of their room had encircled her almost immediately. When she said hello to the younger girl in the room it was mirror that of an airy, breathless echo. Her friend had returned with her greeting with a grumble, something she assumed was akin to that of a hello back. She did not care though, she was too busy wrapped up in her thoughts while Ginny was too enthralled by her random book.

Until Ginny froze mid-sentence, squinted harshly at a random sentence in the book before she carried the same investigative squint all the way till she found Hermione changing into her night robes, a pair of fuzzy pants and long sleeved flannel.

"Oi, what've you been up to?" Ginny pipped up towards her friend who smiled as she carried herself over to her friend's bed. Suspicious as it was, any hint of Ginny's devious enthrallment in whatever Hermione was up to faded when she responded back. Instead her insides filled with eager curiousness and the promise to keep it hidden till death take her.

"I'll tell you, but only because I might burst if I don't tell a soul. You can't tell _anyone,_ promise?" There was a certain gush to the way Hermione spoke but the seriousness in her eyes when she requested not a soul be informed of _whatever_ had occurred that night made Ginny realize that it would be something unexpected that happened.

"Of course, promise." Ginny nodded profusely and the two entangled their pinkies where both were shook into oblivion. The pure-blood witch had only recently been enlightened to the wonders of a pinky promise and it absolutely enthralled her. The rest of the night till they went to bed consisted of Hermione telling every bit of memory she could think of when it came to the way Viktor had asked her to the Yule Ball. From his eagerness to know what troubled her to when he had swayed to the music that had played just for them that night, only for them.

Hermione almost had to shield her ears when Ginny squealed in excitement when she finally revealed just _who_ had asked her. The younger witch was practically fascinated by every bit of the story and that final tidbit sealed the deal for her mind.

"It must've been a dream! I can't believe he asked you, well I could because you're such a catch Hermione but you know." Ginny giggled charmingly where Hermione could not help but blush. The memories of her tale were still dancing around in her mind to their own beat. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before and she was bewildered when her stomach did another flip.

Hermione was completely clueless as to how she was going to get to sleep tonight. She was secretly glad that there were no classes tomorrow because she would have probably been so lost in thought and unable to concentrate it would have killed her.

* * *

I really appreciate when you guys leave reviews so be sure to do so and I'll see you whenever I can get the next update posted. Have a good Thanksgiving too!


	7. Clandestine

**Word Count:** 8,920

 **A/N:** I spent some time wondering if I should divide this into 2 chapters but with the wait for this chapter and feeling if I broke it off in the middle it just wouldn't be right…I kept it together! So happy holidays to you guys with this really long chapter! Hope you enjoy and thanks to everyone who has stuck around so far! ALSO, I think you guys are _really_ gonna like this chapter. haha

* * *

 _Chapter vii – Calendestine_

 _in the beginning it was never meant to be addictive but time progressed and we needed more. we needed more. we just needed more of our touch, our smell, our love. our everything._

* * *

One offer to be someone's date to the ball was enough to knock Hermione to the ground, figuratively of course, but two was very well enough to confuse her for the duration of her life. Hermione stood in the hallway in front of Neville Longbottom who had asked her a most peculiar question. She had found him to be a nice friend despite his troubles with some of his classes. She was even willing to help him because he was nice to her and _never_ mean.

"You want to go to the ball with me?" Hermione questioned incredulously and Neville nodded once again in a nervous manner. She thought the notion was very sweet of him and could see that he had tried to work up a bit of courage before coming to her. Her response left her feeling a bit bad for her rejection but she could not answer any other way. She was caught thinking of Viktor's invitation that happened only two days before.

"I'm sorry Neville but I've already been asked by someone on Friday and I agreed to go with them. I'm really sorry." Hermione frowned before she squeezed his hand in a friendly way and dismissed herself to the library. She wanted to get an early start on the load of homework that had been assigned that day, it was definitely a Monday by the looks of the load that had been dumped upon all of the students. To be fair Thursday began the winter holidays and Wednesday was technically their last day of classes which left them ample time to finish, she knew this but rather get most of it done as soon as possible.

When Hermione finally found Viktor he sat at a table near the back part of the library behind one of the many bookshelves. He appeared to be tinkering with several objects that chimed softly when touched by this wand. She had not seen him work on this project before and wondered if it was for school or something personal to him since Christmas was nearing.

"Hey Viktor, what have you got there?" When Hermione slid into her seat and placed her books on the table casually Viktor turned his head to greet her with a slight smile. He carefully placed the objects, which appeared to be connected together with strings and unified at a base with a hook, in the center of the table so she could see better. Upon closer inspection she could see several intricately carved figures and she widened her eyes at the detail.

She could see what appeared to be a tiny, metal replica of the dragon Viktor had faced a few weeks back, the Chinese Fireball. It had a static portrayal of fire expelling from its nostrils and bristling scales that would send a shiver down someone's spine. The pointed, wicked looking tail was in a defensive position as if it had something protected under its inanimate stature. Very reminiscent of the way the real life one had attempted to protects its own unborn young.

It was accompanied by what a figurine of one of Beauxbaton's Abraxan winged horses in mid-gallop. Despite how small it was there was a fierce determination set in the horse's facial features and an accurate depiction of the equine's muscles. She thought this very fitting, especially of the way the actual creatures behaved. Hermione remembered seeing them for a very short time under Hagrid's watch earlier in the month alongside Harry.

The third she recognized easily after her experience watching the world cup months earlier. It was a veela in its harpy-like state. Instead of looking angry or full emotion there was a sense of calmness, perhaps even a sense of sadness, carved into the ornament. Its partially extended wings were wrapped around its body which seemed to have mimicked that of a hug in Hermione's opinion.

Hermione almost gasped as she saw the final statuette in all its surly but well intentioned glory. She knew that she could have recognized the half-Kneazle mess of fur anywhere. It was Crookshanks. The carved version of her cat did very good to capture the way his fur gave him a lion-like vibe and that of a proud creature. She even swore she saw his eyes blink in the slow, lazy way it did when he appeared to be in deep concentration.

Hermione knew she had been silent while she studied the carvings but Viktor chose not to interrupt her review of his project. She looked for too happy and enthralled for him to dare have a thought for him to have done so. When she finally looked up after taking time to look-over each of the four creations Hermione realized it was a mobile. She was quite confused as to why he was making it or where he had gotten it from. There were many questions she wondered at this point but it seemed Viktor was happy to have obliged anything she spoke.

"That cat has a very strange likeness to mine." Hermione motioned towards the figure who was still sitting motionless in the spot it had been placed.

"Is Crookshank. I saw your friend G…inny? chase him ot'er day. He almost got notes dirty but was fun to see strange cat. He is very…smart and likes the chin rubs, eh?" Viktor smiled when Hermione had a look of horror on her face at hearing he had found her cat. At first she thought he had been in her room because that was where he mostly stayed when during the winter months, Hermione did not want him roaming around too much in the cold in fear that he would freeze. Then she realized if Ginny had chased him he must have gotten out.

"Oh you've met Crookshanks. He can be a bit…strange but if he let you pet him he must have liked you. He is very wary of some." Hermione loosened the scarf around her neck. Crookshanks was a _very_ good judge of character and if he had accepted Viktor's touch as easily as it sounded then that was excellent news to her. Viktor nodded to her and bag that had been sitting beside him and carefully began to load the mobile into it so it would not be ruined.

"So may I ask what you're making a mobile for? It was amazingly carved by the way." Hermione questioned further as the figurines were hidden from view. Viktor seemed to have no issues as he complied to answer her question.

"Working on it for seester, eh I mean sister. Letter from home has mot'er saying she is not sleeping well so I wanted to do somet'ing in my free time." Viktor explained happily and with that Hermione learned that Viktor was not one to leave a problem unsolved if he could help it. She understood that he was very driven. She ultimately thought it very sweet of him to try and solve the problem his younger sibling had.

"How old is she? She must be fairly young." Hermione asked and received a shake of the head from Viktor.

"Very young, only five months now. She was very tiny when born but have not seen her since t'en." Viktor looked a bit dismayed momentarily before he saw the mood changed in his face, "Do you have other children in house…what is word? Sibling?"

"Sadly, no, I was born an only child but I have many cousins. Many are much older but a few are younger than me but what about you? Do you have any other siblings aside from your sister?" Hermione smiled sadly. She had wished once upon a time that she might have had even one brother or sister but her parents never had any more children.

"T'ree brot'ers. I am oldest of all. T'ere is Nayden who is 12, Achim who is 10, and Naum who is 8. If you cannot tell sister, Collie, was not…planned." Viktor chuckled lightly and Hermione rolled her eyes and included the familiar shake of her head. There was a bit of an age gap between Collie and Naum and even Viktor and Nayden. She was sure that their family loved each other nonetheless.

"Its lovely to hear about your family. I would have loved to have even one brother or sister but no such luck."

"Well you can take couple of mine, dah?"

"Viktor!" Hermione looked at him rather excitedly as she tried to hold back the building laughter. There was always something about her time with Viktor, visits that occurred more often and had started to linger longer and longer. Despite their three year age different they seemed to get along with very little disagreements or discrepancies.

She enjoyed hearing him talk of his family and elaborate on how it was for him to be the oldest, how his parents leaned on him often times to help out. He confided to Hermione that even though he loved his family dearly he felt there was something that separated them from him. Viktor even expressed to her that he could not pin point the exact reason rather it be his rising fame within the quidditch world or how he was far older than the remainder of his siblings which caused most of their attention to be diverted to the younger children.

The two did their best to keep their voices down so that the librarian would not fuss them out or a lurking fangirl would stumble upon their study session. Their discussions ran till it was time for supper in the great hall. The hours spent in each other's company passed far more quickly than either realized.

* * *

Wednesday was a relatively quiet day for Hermione until study hall came about. She had been sitting with Harry and Ron where she assisted both with their assignments. Very perceptive of when Professor Snape had started to linger about their group she would go mute. Hermione hated being on the opposing side of Snape's wrath and after the previous situation that included Malfoy, the professor himself, and her teeth she was very wary and easily upset by his presence.

She scribbled furiously in her notes hoping to finish the required formula that needed to be solved quickly. Hermione knew that Ron was not going to be easily taught the correct answer because of his stubbornness. Then when he started conversing with Fred she knew he was hopeless in even concentrating long enough to get an answer down, wrong or right. Their interactions, which landed Fred his date with Angelina, seemed to spark something within Ron.

Only 30 minutes later did the trio fully complete their assignments, all thanks to Hermione, and went their separate ways.

When Hermione thought back on it, things really did not go downhill till after dinner. She had just gotten done with helping one of the younger years who were more than willing to thank her for the help of getting around. It made her smile on the inside.

Harry, Ron, and Ginny were already sitting around the lit fireplace. When she plopped down on the couch she caught the annoyed look Ginny held and rolled her eyes because she knew Ron must have _said_ or _done_ something to make her look so.

"You two missed dinner, rather unheard of." Hermione pointed towards both boys, received a horrid groan from both, and a loud laugh from Ginny. Now she was really intrigued as she waited for further information on just _what_ held them back from getting the night's grub.

"Both got turned down by the girls they've tried to ask. Rather expected from how they've been acting, especially Ron, eh Hermione?" Ginny nudged her brother harshly before focusing back on Hermione. Her hair, tied back in a very loose ponytail, was falling in her face.

"All the good looking ones taken, Ron? I guess you'll have to lower those standards of yours or better yet the girls will have to lower theirs." Hermione, in all truth, did not feel bad about making the jab because it was true. Ron had acted quite haughtily about the type of date he wanted with absolutely no regards to some of the girls' feelings, including hers. She was not sure, though, if Ron simply tuned the better part of her comment out or plainly disregarded it because the look in his eyes was reminiscent to that of the way he looked in their study hall session earlier in the day.

"You know, Neville's right, you _are_ a girl…" The moment Ron opened his mouth to speak Hermione would have bet there was an 80 percent chance she was not going to like it and with each word that passed that percentage rose higher and higher until it blew out any proportion she could have thought of. There was an annoyed twitch in her eyebrow when he finished and an acidic look buried deep in her eyes.

His comment was short and stout but it burned all the same against her ears. Ginny gulped only knowing this would lead nowhere good but she was never in control of the situation to stop it from the get go. Harry, clueless as always, only ever so _slightly_ began to catch on to the brevity of what Ron said and how it came across.

"That's well spotted of you to say now isn't it?" Hermione's previous smile twisted to that into something mixed with a sinister and fake look. She was not sure if she should grin and bear what he had to say to her or bite his entire head off in one swift sentence. Falling the former thought she rubbed the back of her neck, the ache in it growing fairly quickly.

"Well, you can just come with one of us, it's not like you've got a date and th-" Hermione's plan had gone out the window at that point because she could no longer hold her tongue. She did not deserve to sit and try to comprehend his stupidity as a boy. There was a miniscule thought that Ron really did not understand the way his words came across but that civil thought was discarded in a split second.

"I don't think so."

"Oh come on Hermione, we really need a partner because it's going to look ridiculous if we show up without one." Ron looked positively impatient and surprised at her. _As if he had the nerve to be impatient with her._

"I…can't come with you even if I wanted because I've already been asked." Hermione was treading on thin glass because she did not want to reveal that she had even been asked to them but there was no other way to get Ron off her back. She absolutely refused the thought of revealing _who_ in fear of how Ron would react regardless of how shady it looked on her when she did not provide an actual name.

"No you're not. We all know that you told Neville no and you only said no was to get rid of him." Ron shook his head disapprovingly because he believed she was lying to him and as friends they _did not_ lie to one another. The last bit to Hermione was the final straw. Hermione was not like that, she was _not_ superficial, and she was _not_ like Ron.

"Oh _did_ I? You know that just because it has taken you three years to realize I'm a girl doesn't mean that no one else has realized!" Hermione felt absolutely livid at this point, her perfectly peaceful day was ruined now thanks to the idiot beside her. It was taking all her willpower at this point not to hex him and that was only because Ginny was in the room and she would rat her out to Molly. She knew Harry would be too scared to say a word against her.

"Alright, alright we know you're a girl. Is that good enough, will you come to the ball now?" Ron smiled. Hermione took a deep breath, quenched her anger momentarily, and responded as clearly as possible.

" _Listen up you and listen good!_ I've already got someone and even if I didn't the _last_ person I'd go with would be you." Hermione stood up from the couch and left the area. She was fuming and it would certainly take a while for her to cool down if Ron did not find another way to set her off even worse. Ginny was in entire disbelief at what she witnessed and looked between the doorway Hermione had stomped out of and Ron.

"She's totally lying." Ron spoke in a nonchalant tone, as if the anger Hermione held was not evident in the slightest to him.

"She's _totally_ not." Ginny responded promptly before she shook her head in a disapproving way, "You know I knew you were idiot but I didn't realize you were this bad."

* * *

"Are you still upset with Ron?" Ginny sat on the edge of her bed beside Hermione, it was Friday now. She peered over to the letter Hermione was writing, no doubt it was to her mother. Ginny was writing her own, though she had to keep a bit of the drama that had been occurring lately out of it.

"Very much so but I figure if I dwell on it only _I_ will be dragged down by it. If I just show up to the dance with Viktor then the look on his face will be that much more satisfying. Let him think I don't have a date just the way I _don't_ think he's a git." Ginny was quite surprised at how independent Hermione had grown. She was still very much a part of Ron and Harry's lives and helped them as much as she could but she was more resilient now.

"Good. He deserves it with the way he's been acting throughout the school year. Have you got your dress robes yet? My mother had to owl mine since they weren't on my list originally." Ginny was very curious of what Hermione planned to wear. When she thought back there was never an occasion she had seen Hermione dressed up for so this would be the first. It excited her.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours?" Both girls snickered and proceeded to dig for their dress robes. The Yule Ball was in two days and all the girls in the dormitory were beyond excited, Ginny and Hermione were no exception to this.

When Hermione saw the dress Molly Weasley had gotten for her daughter she thought it was a peculiar dress at first but found it very fitting for Ginny. The color was a delicate pink that would reflect nicely off of Ginny's pale skin. It seemed to be a very wispy dress, the few layers lacey pink and white tulle did not touch the ground when she put it against her chest, where she spun around happily. The dress did have sleeves that cut off right above the elbow as well.

"Yours are positively wonderful Ginny. I know you're going to have such a wonderful time with Neville." Hermione was beyond happy to know that Neville had took her hints after his rejection to seek out Hermione. Though she did not believe any romantic relationship would evolve from this ball she knew both would have fun and Neville would treat her friend right.

Hermione pulled out a small box from her trunk and tapped it softly and murmured a charm as she did so. The box quickly grew to full size and she snapped the clasps open that held it shut. When she removed the dress from its container, the material practically popped up. The material was a pretty periwinkle blue that was easy on the eyes due to the lightness of the color. It had flowy bottom that swished similarly to the way Ginny's dress had done and was due to the attached petticoat-type inside. The dress did not poof out that much but there was a slight bounce in the tulle of the dress. The neckline accented the shape of her body and the sleeves matched the way the bottom half of her dress danced.

"Oh my, Hermione, your dress is gorgeous. You're going to look beautiful and I don't know if Viktor will recognize you in it, I don't know if anyone will but we're going to have so much fun Hermione, oh I'm so excited!" Ginny rambled on as she went up close to see the dress Hermione had picked out months earlier with her mother. It had been a special moment for them to bond over and Hermione was grateful as there were not many moments like these between her and her mother.

"I'm slightly worried it would clash with his own dress robes. He informed me they're red." Hermione frowned as she looked downward at the dress then looked back to Ginny.

"I think it will be fine, the color is so soft that it won't clash but stand out. It will stand out in a good way so don't even worry." Ginny reassured her and helped her to carefully place the dress back in the container she had somehow fitted it in before. It was shrunken to be the size of its previous state and placed back in Hermione' trunk. The two girls fell asleep soon enough each eager for the next day to pass and turn into Sunday.

* * *

The morning of Christmas, Hermione was not shouted or forced out of sleep. She was simply stirred awake by the ending of a rather peculiar dream. She could remember quite clearly that the dream did not have a point but she remembered who was in it with her.

 _Viktor_.

He continued to invade her thoughts more and more as of late, though she was less inclined to be upset by this within the last month. At first it did bother her that a stranger had become such a distraction to her, but now she could certainly call him a closer friend. It was true that she did not share the same sort adventures with him that she did with Harry and Ron, but Hermione could say that she shared a different connection, a more mental one.

When they talked it was on a higher level, a more intuitive association between the two. Slowly but surely Hermione had grown accustomed to her time spent with Viktor on most days. He had been more than willing to satisfy her curious questions of where he lived and what it was like venturing into a strange school. In return she would answer questions of her own home, the world with no magic, and they even managed to set aside time that Hermione would help Viktor learn the English language. While a rare treat, he even taught her words of his own tongue.

Her vivid dream, though, had left her to wake up in a peaceful state. _Hermione had been in the air, that much was true, where she thrashed about in a wickedly active thunder storm. Lightning struck out of the blindingly bright sky wildly around her, each one caused her to flinch away until she had backed into something. For a moment the storm had faded into dark, angry clouds and pouring rain accompanied by an almost instantaneous change in the sky's color from light to dark. She remembered feeling terrified for a moment that and she swirled around._

 _She floated for a time as her emotions seemed to calm, her dream seemed to keep the being's identify a blur, until she found Viktor right in front of her. Any sign of the previous weather had faded and the sky returned once again to a tranquil blue, fluffy white clouds adorning it. Then she looked down and they were on brooms. Oddly enough she was not startled in the dream like she would have been in real life._

 _When Hermione had looked back up she could see that Viktor was farther ahead of her now but looked back at her and beckoned her to follow. She took off with no trouble, eager to keep pace with the Bulgarian. They were not going at a break-neck speed but simply cruising around in the endless sky. Before she knew it, though, Hermione had flown into one of the many clouds that had strolled about and before she could get back to Viktor she had woken up._

Hermione laid awake in her bed replaying the all too short dream in her mind. She was unsure of how much time had passed but she was drive out of her revelry when she heard Ginny harshly whisper to her.

"Hermione? Are you wake?" Hermione heard the shuffle of covers and turned over in her bed. Light filtered through their windows' curtains that were partially open. She could see it reflect off Ginny's hair which appeared rich in color until it faded darkly when she stepped out of the light. The girl hobbled over in a groggy state because she had just woken up and the excitement of Christmas would never let her fall back asleep.

"Of course Gin." Hermione half-smiled at the squinting third year. When said third year outstretched her hands she knew it was time to get up. She allowed herself to be pulled out of bed, her own covers fell to the wayside. The bed would be made later she decided.

* * *

Hermione sat next to Ginny and across from Harry and Ron where she their company along with a few other Gryffindors that had stayed at Hogwarts for the holidays. Breakfast had ended hours ago and it was not yet time for lunch. The group, along with many others from the different houses and even different schools, had lingered in the room for when the owls came through to bring the mail.

When the owls came flying in she watched with a childish smile, so many this Christmas and many were quite interesting to watch the way they behaved. Hermione would never tired of watching them soar in, to see the different breeds that came through the windows. When a letter was dropped off in front of her she recognized her mother's handwriting, figured that was it for her, and went back to watching the numerous owls enter the great hall.

When she believed all the owls were done flying in, she was caught off guard by another one of the captivating creatures. This incoming owl was different, quite larger than the rest that had flown by her and that only became more evident as it confidently glided downwards, _towards her._ Hermione watched as the magnificent owl gathered it wings in a great big flap to slow itself before the very lengthy, white box clasped within its talons dropped against the wooden table tabletop with a thud. The eye-catching bird landed on the table as well not a moment later where it chose to nudge the box a smidge closer to Hermione, even with a well-sealed envelope in its beak.

Hermione was quite thrown off by the owl before her, it almost respond to her the same peculiar look she had given it. The creature had a large, rounded face with strikingly right eyes that were surrounded by a thick ring of black. Its size was far bigger than most of the owls she was accustomed to seeing and the bars of black reflecting over its off-white face almost entranced her.

Well aware that many of the eyes of the group were on her she look the letter from the owl to which it softly but happily hooed in response when it saw that it's job of delivering the parcel and it's accompany letter were finally done. The hypnotizing owl lingered for a moment longer before it moved away from the group, spread its wings in one swift movement, and took to the air to find its home.

"Never seen that owl before…who's it from Hermione?" Ron pipped up, the genuine curiosity in his voice almost surprised Hermione. Ginny leaned against her shoulder while the 15 year old undid the foreign seal and removed the small note from within.

 _Merry Christmas Hermione. Please take these as thanks._

 _V.K._

"It, uh, doesn't say. Just a simple Merry Christmas. I've never seen the owl before either, quite a striking look don't you think?" Hermione told a half-truth to her listening friends, allowing only Ginny to peak over and see what the actual card said. Both girls understood that who the initials belonged to and were eager to see what was within the box.

"That owl was _huge_ , no way was it from around here. Maybe you've got a secret admirer, eh Hermione?" Ginny threw out the last tidbit in such a nonchalant way that Hermione had to hold back an annoyed twitch ready to spring on her face. Instead she rolled her eyes even when she heard Ron snort at the implication.

Hermione removed the cover of the box and she practically gasped upon seeing the three carefully placed quills. The first was a simple quill that had the feather of a swan, these quills lasted the longest out of most. It was a delicate white, untarnished by anything and practically ready to be used. The studious girl figured she could write the reply to her mother's letter with it. The second quill had a feather which was a faint blue and almost appeared to shimmer as she moved it. It was a rather short quill but still beautiful nonetheless.

When she looked at the final quill she was amazed at the amount of detail in the feather. It matched the look of the owl that was previously there. The gradient went from white at the beginning and an almost transparent brown towards the end. The only interruption in the smooth coloring came from the random strips of solid brown.

The gifts were so unexpected that Hermione almost had no clue what to do. Viktor must have gotten them together within the last month but he had done such a wonderful job. She was surely going to have to thank him the next time she saw him.

* * *

Later in the day when they had all migrated outdoors to enjoy a bit of the snowy weather Hermione sat off to the side with Ginny and Angelina. The three girls were bundled in their thick snow-proof coats to keep the cold from seeping into their bones. Teeth chattered and arms shivered as they discussed the yule ball which would be occurring later that day.

"Hey Hermione, I heard you're going with Ron. That true?" Angelina pipped up with half a smile, though she was mostly focused on the impending snowball war between the groups of boys that occurred in the not too far distance. This was the first that Hermione had ever heard of that rumor though for a moment she did not consider it surprising. Something about it seemed…expected and for a long moment it left her wordless.

"Far from it actually." Hermione allowed her head to drop into a slightly tilt, the thought that was produced in her mind had faded. She pretended to watch the snowball fight but blinked furiously when snowflakes landed on her eyelashes every so often, their solidity fading into an annoying moisture that clung against the edges of her eyes. As if she had cried without any of the pain behind it.

Their trio was soon invaded by Cho but she was welcomed just fine by the three. A group of four Durmstrang boys joined the Hogwarts groups and an all-out battle with the snow began eventually forcing the girls to build their own snowbank while they watched everything occur helplessly. Hermione had spotted Viktor within the group almost as soon as she had a good clear look of his face from behind the makeshift snow bank. He appeared to have his emotional shield down as he goofed around in the white powder with the fellow students, the bare hint of a smile on his face as compacted snow was thrown about.

Viktor's face was flush as was hers but while his was due to the chilling temperature her reason was from a far different reason. The heat grew in her face and they were barely within ten feet of one another. Ever since Viktor had taken her aside to request her as his date to the ball she had to do her best to contain her blossoming emotions around him and even out of his presence. The heat in her face always grew unbearable, she could never find the time to eat as she always felt full of an untamed excitement, and the bare hint of nervousness always pricked at her fingertips.

When it as time for the four to leave and prepare themselves for the Yule Ball the snow fight had subsided enough for them to pass through and wave goodbye without causality. Viktor looked surprised for a moment when he realized Hermione was one of the girls walking through. His expression was quickly masked understandably as neither had told a soul, save for their closest friend, as to who they had decided to go with. Hermione's smile, truly meant for Viktor, was easily passed off towards Harry, Ron, and the other familiar faces.

One thing, however, Viktor could not shake himself from doing was watching as they walked away, watched as Hermione walked away. He was so entranced with the way her hair bounced and how her hands swayed in such a carefree manner he was tackled straight to the ground in a blindsided maneuver by his fellow Durmstrang student.

"Got crush, eh?"

* * *

"Are you sure Sleekeazyis going to fix _my hair?_ " Hermione incredulously questioned Ginny. With fair point, Hermione's hair always appeared quite untamable, the waviness of the hair even more unpredictable after it was brushed. The other simply scoffed at her doubt and continued to get the hair potion ready for use. Ginny did not originally have the bottle to tame her mane, the object of persecution had been, thankfully, gifted by Angelina.

"Duh. Now be quiet so I can fix it." After being mildly reprimanded, Hermione promptly kept herself from speaking another word for the next hour and a half. When Ginny was finally done Hermione was quite curious to see what her hair looked like. It had been done in an up-do, swirled and held up by crystalline-like pins. There had been several ringlets kept down that hung over her shoulder. When Ginny gasped she became slightly worried and her eyes bulged.

"You better stop that before they pop out. You…look…wonderful! Well your hair and makeup does but we still need that dress on." Hermione had teamed up with Ginny when they did their mildly applied make-up but the hair had been all Ginny's doing.

"You've barely done anything with your hair though? I mean it looks lovely but you're not going to put it up like mine?" Ginny had styled her hair in a way that rang out simplicity. Partial bits hair had been pulled back into decorative braids, flowers sparingly used to accent while the remaining portion of her hair was down like normal, flattened straight.

"I don't see why I need to be _that_ dressed up. I'm only thirteen plus I'm not the one dancing with a champion now am I? _And_ I'm sure I'll have plenty more opportunities to play dress up." Ginny presented a cheeky smile and Hermione gaped for a moment. Hermione slid out of the chair she had spent far too long in and proceeded to stretch. Her legs ached from the chair's hardness and she was itching to put her dress on. Having decided to sneak a glance at the room's clock she almost blanched when she realized the ball would be starting soon.

"I see the clock too, now c'mon your dress is a two witch job. I'll zip you up and then you can zip mine up after." Hermione slid off her shirt and shorts leaving her in nothing but a bra and undies. Neither were bothered by the almost-nakedness of each other at this point after having spent several cramped sessions together through the years. With half the dress on, Hermione needed to unhook her bra before she could slip the sleeves up. She did not need it as the dress had a bra built in for convenience.

When everything was said and done and both girls' dresses had been zipped up. In normal circumstances Hermione had argued against having a full-length mirror, it took up space she had argued many times. However, this time she was thankful it was there. She had allowed Ginny to get a good look of herself.

"Ginny, you're going to have such a nice night with Neville tonight. I'm honestly glad he asked you to accompany him." Hermione smiled sweetly as she hugged Ginny. Their dresses swished as each girl moved into the close contact.

"Me too. I've thought about what you said about just branching out. I really don't have that much confidence with guys do I?" Ginny frowned momentarily but Hermione was not about to let her delve into any sadness. She needed to stay happy, confident, and proud tonight.

"Now you've got much more than you did at the beginning of the year and if worse comes to worse you can ditch guys, okay? I hear most are pretty sour to begin with. Now go get down there and find Neville. I'll be down in just a second, need to check on something." Hermione hugged on her tightly one last time and ushered her out the door without another word.

There really had not been anything else that Hermione needed to check on. In truth, Hermione was nervous. Initially she had assumed she was just nervous about being by Viktor but she quickly realized that was not the case. It was being in front of everyone that sent jitters down Hermione's spine. What would people say or think of her? What would they do to her? Hermione swallowed as she looked into the mirror and breathed in deeply. She knew that whenever she was around Viktor she had a sense of calm, that he gave her a difference sense of confidence.

Hermione decided that she would rely on the calming aura of Viktor to get through the night, after all it did not matter. It was just Viktor and Hermione. As she left her room, the periwinkle material of her dress waved in continued motions with each of her steps. When Hermione had passed through the commons room so she could exit out the portrait there had been quite a few people lurking in the commons room, something she did not expect. In an afterthought she realized most were third year and younger and probably wanted to admire the way those going had dressed up. She did spot two or three that were her age and even older.

They all stared as she walked through and she found she could do nothing but timidly smile and quickly avoid eye contact with them. It seemed her walk through to the exit was far longer than any time she had taken the route and she heard many whispers as she finally stepped out of the exit.

" _Was that Hermione?" "She was absolutely gorgeous!" "Who's she going with!?"_

When the words hit her ears she was left with mixed emotions and hurried towards the stairs. Hermione was a bit worried about being late and when there was no one around it only solidified her thoughts. When she peaked around the corner it was done in a very timid way but near the base of the stairs she saw Harry, Fleur, Cedric, and their accompanying dates. She gulped understanding that it was now or never.

Hermione descended the stairs and three steps down she caught the eye of Viktor. He had mouthed something to Professor McGonagall when it appeared that his voice faltered. She could see the hitch in his breath when he had seen her come down unexpectedly. Deep down her own breath was prepared to falter, in fact she nearly missed a step, when she saw him. Unbeknownst to the two, McGonagall watched the interaction between the two and at first the entire look of shock was quite expected but there was a simple sort of smile that relaxed itself onto her face as the two came to greet one another.

There had always been a nagging feeling in the pits of her gut when Hermione was around Viktor. Hermione never knew what it meant and had always done her best to shrug it off and ignore it. Tonight she could do so no longer. She understood what that feeling had been trying to provoke.

 _Hermione Granger found Viktor Krum attractive_.

Nobody but her sub-conscious knew this, and would continue to, and she was unsure of what the newly-realized information meant for her. When she finally met face to face with Viktor he kissed the knuckles of her hand and offered his arm. She wrapped her arm around his willingly and he led her in place with the other champions. They were decided to be the third to enter, right before Harry and Padma.

Harry and Hermione's eyes met and she could see his complete realization take place in that moment. He smiled supportively to her and she returned it. When she turned around the doors of the Great Hall opened and Fleur started the walk alongside her chosen date. Soon enough all the couple followed suit and were encompassed by two sides of students from all three schools. Hermione did her best to walk alongside Viktor with a bright smile, nerves nipped at the edges of her toes still. People stared, but at who she could never tell and would never care to.

When they hit the floor where the school's orchestra prepared to start the opening waltz she was focused on nothing but Viktor's face and guiding posture. Then the music started and it was like no other existed around them. They found their steps easily and their dancing flowed without flaw. Hermione spun, her dress's length extended outwards slightly in a glorious sight that was akin to the way Viktor's cape mimicked, and he lifted her into the air proudly, an uncommon smile graced his lips that was meant for her, only her. It seemed all too quickly that their time was invaded by others who continued to join in on the dance until the floor was packed.

Their dancing did not falter and their connection was never severed as they remained in sync for the remainder of the opening waltz.

* * *

For one night in her life since Hermione began her education at Hogwarts she allowed herself to be free from worry, free from distraction, free from Harry and Ron. In fact, Hermione almost forgot that she attended the same dance with them as she was so busy being the focus of Viktor's attention. When the classical music had died down and Professor Flitwick had announced the guest performance by the Weird Sisters, she had immediately been wrapped up in hitting the dance floor for the second time that night.

The music almost started immediately as many of the attending witches and wizards crowded around the stage and began dancing to the upbeat tempo. Hermione was feeling exhilarated as she was twirled around in a silly way by Viktor and let a laugh slip that only accented her already formed smile. She looked up to Viktor as she bobbed her head to music shyly, Hermione never often found time to dance and never really had opportunities to, and saw that he his smile was so great she could see his teeth lighting up his face with how white they were.

Both students continued dancing together and even joined in with the group near them. Hermione noticed that Fred was hanging around with Angelina right next to him and they seemed to be having a wonderful time. Ginny was right next to her with Neville as well and the girl continued to giving her cheerful, giddy looks. When the songs changed none took a break, everyone was all too caught up in the good time they were having.

Hermione was so caught up in the moment she had not even realized Harry nor Ron were separated from their group, off by one of the tables looking so sour it was unbelievable. Ron looked more upset than Harry and perhaps the second claimed Hogwarts' champion was only acting so because Ron held him back to sulk.

Time seemed to blend together and mid-way through the fourth song Viktor and Hermione had pulled away from the group to get drinks for themselves. They laughed and smiled as Viktor pulled her in the direction of the drink table before she saw Harry and Ron at a table where Ron looked superbly put-off.

"Wait, Viktor. Would you mind if I went check on Harry and Ron? They're looking positively awful tonight." Viktor nodded and swept her hand upwards in a casual way before he kissed the top of her hand with a playful smile that crept on his face afterwards. Hermione could not help but blush and do her best to take a deep breath as he walked away to get drinks for the both of them. She was blown away at how lovely the night had gone, how amazing she felt the entire time. There was a moment when she smiled thinking about how oddly Viktor had danced during the upbeat songs but she had danced no better.

Hermione realized she was simply content to be spending time with Viktor and if they had a few laughs along the way that was more than enough for her. A part of her was nervous as she felt she was treading into uncharted territory for herself but it also gave her butterflies to think about it. When she pushed these thoughts aside she headed towards the table and sat beside Harry with an enormously goofy smile.

"Seems to be rather hot tonight." Hermione who looked deliriously happy appeared the complete opposite of Ron who was a mere two seats away from her. Harry seemed unsure, he was mostly confused but he knew of the reasoning behind Ron's idiotic behavior while Hermione did not. When no response came it did not deter Hermione.

"Viktor has gone to get drinks, would you care to join us? The dinner is starting soon too. I figured we could all sit with one another." Hermione held an eager look in her eyes and the way her smile grew. Harry saw no issue with this but he was interrupted far quicker than he could get a word out.

"No we would not care to get drinks with you and _pretty boy_. I'm sure you'll be just fine on your own, after he gets what he wants that is." Ron responded promptly with a tone so sharp that it cut through the happiness on Hermione's face in the blink of eye. Hermione's eyes narrowed suspiciously at him. Vaguely she understood why he was acting so but there was no call for such behavior especially insinuating such behaviors.

"Excuse me? There was absolutely _no_ call for saying such things!" Hermione frowned but despite her urge to get loud she kept her voice at a normal level.

"No call? He's _using_ you Hermione and you're too bloody blind to see it. Boys like him only want _one thing_ and it's not friendship. I bet he's got the ego of quidditch pitch I don't see how you were dumb enough to go with him."

" _R-Ron!_ " Hermione stuttered at her friend's implications about Viktor's character and her ability to judge character. Harry was wide-eyed too at this point and seemed to near a point where he felt it best to step in.

"Now Ron, I think you need to cool down-" Harry was cut off this time by the angered one of the trio. His face seemed to match his hair at this point.

"No, don't you try to defend. You agreed with me! You know he's a foul git who's only good for quidditch and girls." Ron whipped his head to face Harry in a second and the look on his face was pure aggravation.

"Now you stop it right now Ron! Viktor is a wonderful person and you'd better stop saying otherwise because aren't even friends. You're not allowed to judge him like so! And _for the record_ , maybe you should have just plucked up the courage to ask me but now I'm surely glad you didn't. Some time ago I'm sure I would have liked to go with you but _not anymore_." Hermione blurted out the entirety of her feelings and stood up abruptly. She looked as if she could have said a lot more to the bumbling ginger but she held her tongue and walked off.

* * *

Truly Hermione wanted to hide in the shadows and cry. She wanted nothing more than to be to herself and delve into her feelings, to figure out what she was truly felt. The better part of her nature screamed not to.

Viktor had done nothing wrong and deserved to not have her abandon the night. Aside from that when Hermione had gotten back to Viktor, two drinks in his hand, he saw that all was not right. They had spent the next twenty minutes off to the side where they discussed what had happened and why she had appeared so rightfully upset.

At first, Viktor had wanted to smack Ron upside the head, to straighten out the ideals Ron had fabricated about him and about how he would treat Hermione. Hermione was sure Viktor had spent a good ten minutes alone to ensure that was not and _would never_ be true. That he would _never_ use her.

Hermione knew the truth, that it was not in his nature to act so.

When dinner had been called they were forced to sit at a table with the other champions. Hermione was rather pleased with this seating arrangement as her feud was with Ron and not Harry. Though some of the comments caused her to be very confused with Harry. Ron said that Harry agreed with him and Hermione wondered how true it was. Did they spend most of the ball contemplating on how worthless Viktor was? It troubled Hermione but she dared not focus on it or else Viktor would have spent the remainder of the Yule Ball trying to fix the situation when nothing else could be done for the night.

While they ate, though she felt like she barely ate anything, they talked, and talked, and talked. The time passed so quickly that the courses of food were done before she realized and they were allowed to go back to the dance floor or head in for the night.

Due to their attracted connection with one another they sat for a little while to finish their discussion of where Viktor lived and more on his family. They returned once more to the dance floor and spent the remainder of their energy through dances and smiles. When a slow song had come along unexpectedly Hermione was unsure though Viktor took her by the waist after a moment of uncertainty from himself.

They simply swayed back and forth slowly where they were locked to the beat. There was something about this moment to Hermione that left her speechless. Whether they realized it they did have a few spectators, both teachers and students. When the song ended Viktor realized that the end of the ball was close and he offered to escort her back to the Gryffindor Portrait.

As they walked back rather slowly, of course, neither was willed the night to end. It had been far too enjoyable, excluding a certain incident earlier in the night, for both. With no one around, save the paintings and their portraits, the pair turned to face goodbye.

Hermione had always wondered if she would be kissed or ever kiss someone. She wondered what the moment would feel like, what she would do. She wondered if it felt like this. Trapped in the orbit of Viktor's space she felt herself being pulled closer and closer, as if she were in a sort lull. Her eyes were wide with curiosity for a moment as his eyes shifted and he breathed in deep.

When their lips connected, their eyes shut. They saw nothing, they heard nothing, but they felt everything. She stumbled in her kiss to him, her first kiss to him, her first kiss to anyone but he did not mind. The way their lips melded to together turned into a harmonious duo within moments, Hermione was a gifted learned after all. The surge of emotion built in the pit of her stomach surged and she could feel the nervousness and heat surfacing in her face together in one mixed set of feelings.

That night Viktor was gifted with Hermione's first kiss, her second kiss, and her third kiss. He was gifted with understanding she was genuine and true. They parted ways for the night both in very good moods.

* * *

 **THANK YOU** to everyone has left reviews and followed the story. Can you believe we're nearing 100 follows? Be sure to leave something telling me how this chapter made you feel. After all the first kiss has occurred and that surely had to be a relief to those waiting on it!

Remember reviews, follows, and favorites are always welcome and appreciated!


	8. The Origin of Love

**Word Count:** 6,685

 **A/N:** Wow! It's been a few months and I've sure been busy. I do hope there are still some people following this story because I know they didn't expect this update. I said I'd finish this story and I will. Of course this isn't the last chapter but even slow updates…well they're updates. Lol, enjoy! (will probably edit fully later for errors but for now I wanted to put this up!)

* * *

 _Chapter viii – The Origin of Love_

 _she was the ray in the dark, the glowing light for direction, she would show him where to go. she would show him the world._

* * *

A mere two hours after Viktor had parted ways with Hermione for the night he laid awake in his bed. Sleep appeared to have abandoned him momentarily and he had already spent an hour and a half avoiding the problem that stirred such turmoil within him. Normally, he refused to be _that_ person, the kind who put off their issues and avoided problems like the plague. They were always dealt with head on and as quickly as possible to resolve any further issues before they could fester.

No matter how hard he tried to clench his eyes together sleep would not come forced. Sighing offhandedly he resolved to count the ceiling boards again and within twenty minutes he found the task too menial. Viktor rose halfway from his bed where he used his elbows to prop his upper torso off of the bed. He eyed a few of his fellow schoolmates passed out though he noticed two or three appeared to not have made it back to the ship. The soft snort of disapproval was quickly silenced when he remembered he was trying _not_ to wake any of them.

In quick succession he left the bed, removed the broom from beneath the place he had slept many nights before, and tiptoed out of the cabin without a single creak or groan from their aged ship's wood flooring. Once Viktor was outside the ship completely with his broom still securely in hand he found himself quite proud of stealth mission he pulled off.

When he was settled on his broom, the midnight clouds and glowing moon chose to greet him like an old friend as he rose to the sky. Viktor figured that if he flew through the air for a bit he could clear his mind. If you would have asked any of his friends or his head master about his focus they would all say it was on the tournament, respectively so. Only was this suggestion partially true.

An unexpected side effect of his visit to Hogwarts for his last school year was having met Hermione. To have seen her. To have talked to her. To have danced with her. _To have kissed her._

He had not expected to be so enthralled with another and neither would anyone else given the thought. Many tended to think he was a thick headed oaf with an empty mind to match. That all he focused on, all he would _ever_ focus on, was quidditch and following the rules of others. People who thought that, well, they did not see him _for_ him. They saw Viktor for his fame and status, for material possessions. He knew he was so much more than that.

Viktor knew that Hermione was so much more than that.

Viktor slowed his broom mid-thought. The air was crisp against his face but with the Durmstrang coat wrapped around his body he felt less of nature's intended affects. He almost felt…dumfounded. How could someone he never knew existed have such an impact and invasion in his thoughts. Hermione had imprinted her presence in his mind and neither had knew a single thing had happened by the time it was discovered.

He recalled now that he often considered Hermione when looking at different trinkets or items. Viktor thought of her when people chose to educate him on a topic he never knew existed. The Bulgarian figured she might like _that_ necklace or she probably already _knew_ what they told him.

Hermione was completely enthralling and appealing to him and Viktor had no earthly clue how she came to be such a presence in his life. His thoughts of her and the way she had positively impacted him over the last semester made him smile. The kind of smile that just appeared, that you never knew happened because it felt so natural.

There was a break in his thoughts, a moment of solitude before he frowned. Viktor wondered what people would do if they found out of his true interest in her. He felt unsure and almost upset with himself. People were judgmental; they were cruel, mean, and unforgiving. She was a muggleborn and he was a pureblood and though labels meant nothing to him, they meant everything to others.

Would they act that way to her? Would they belittle her in effort to gain his favor?

So much time had be invested into their blossoming kinship that it was bound to lead to more. Viktor knew that even though they shared a kiss it did not necessarily mean she would accept him. She had some sort of trinity bond with Harry and the ginger boy, though it almost seemed otherwise.

They already had a place deep in her heart. Would he? Would he just be a thing of the moment?

Here Viktor had taken to the skies to alleviate his troubled mind and while he found solace and comfort in part of his worries, newfound troubles had sprung up ready to take hold on the insecurities that had buried themselves deep in his mind. He decided then that the only way to fully solve the situation and put everything to rest was to speak with Hermione herself. Though Viktor knew that was a lot easier, not the mention less nerve wracking, said than done.

Within that final thought in mind he began the short journey back towards the ship he housed in, heavy fur coat fluttering like paper with the wind as he flew. It would do him no further good to be out in the night any longer especially with the prospect of getting caught by a Hogwarts teacher or worse, Karkaroff.

* * *

Hermione felt as if the days that followed the ball passed by in an extraordinary blur. The returning workload for her studies had been unexpectedly heavy and she had gotten quite caught up in maintaining order with all of her classes. However, this did not mean other thoughts had laxed themselves from her immediate feelings. Her days were spent deep in charms, arthimancy, and surprisingly broom notes.

Her nights were spent occupied by the thoughts of her relations with Viktor. Hermione had become almost devoted to his presence after they had begun to hang out so frequently. Now, they had not shared a word since the ball and she wondered if the ache in her head and the lull in the pit of her stomach was what true withdrawal felt like. Had she done something to upset him? Was there an underlying issue she was not aware of?

She knew people talked about her appearance at the ball with Viktor. Some words were terribly rude, some were enthrallingly kind. Hermione knew that people could be cruel and judgmental. Her experiences were first hand after all. A silent wonder escaped in her thoughts. A wonder that questioned if she should be grateful she knew how to handle these things from experience or continue wishing that they had never happened.

Hermione tossed in her bed for the third night in a row. Part of her wanted to groan in frustration but then she might have woken Ginny and that would have been no good for either of them. When she finally found comfort near the edge of her bed where she had chosen to lay on her side, eyes mindlessly staring the floor. Hermione blew air through her mouth as quietly as possible, as if she were going to whistle but refrained from actually producing the noise would accompany the shape her lips curled into.

It was when a random twitch in her eye occurred that she stopped her silly antic. All was still and she chalked it up to the dust in the air. All the dust in the air that she and Ginny definitely needed to get on top of before the end of next week. But then the twitch in the corner of her peripheral vision occurred again and she focused on the accusing area in her vision.

The wood flooring looked just the same as always until she identified a white, oddly shaped piece of trash on the floor. She stared at it for a good minute before it popped to life from the floor and in her direction. Hermione had to scramble to keep her mouth shut before she would have yelped in surprise from the unexpected item's…habit.

Then it hopped again and again and again. Closer and closer till it was next to her bedside, where it continued to hop into the wooden base of the bed's frame until eventually it landed upside down and helpless. Unsure if she should actually touch the makeshift creature, Hermione shrugged whilst she grumbled about how it was too late for these sorts of shenanigans.

Upon capture of the paper which turned out to be folded into the shape of a frog and charmed to act like one as well she unfolded it to see the desired contents. Suddenly she felt so silly for being startled by a mere note. The delivery method had obviously meant to not attraction attention and keep to the shadows while it hopped to its intended destination.

 _Dear Hermione,_

 _I am truly sorry for not talking to you in person at all this week. You seemed so busy with your studies that I wouldn't have dared bother you. Learning is important. I would have written sooner but my first note was thwarted by your professor Snape.(Thankfully I had added a protection charm that burned it to a crisp when he caught it) This note was sent in hopes of securing some time to talk with you because I want to talk about us if that is okay._

 _My mother once told me it is not good to let things simmer so please seek me out when you are able to._

 _V.K._

Hermione's hand tightened on the note when she finished reading it which left little creases in it but she had not bothered to notice. Her heart tightened too, just the thought of what he had wrote sent jitters down her spine. Viktor really did care and he left it up to her to be comfortable about when they would next talk again.

A small sliver of a small hope worked its way onto her face as she folded the note delicately and placed it into the second drawer of her nightstand. Ginny did not normally root through them so she felt it safe enough to be placed there without being removed by someone other than herself. Slumber took over her rather easily after that.

Perhaps things would be okay.

* * *

It was the second day after Hermione had received Viktor's note. Truthfully she had wanted to speak with him the very next day but her teachers and work seemed to digress against her efforts. In the end her plan was thwarted and resolved to spending the next day, a Saturday, with Viktor himself in order to take care of all remaining issues that had sprouted their way into their relationship.

It takes her a bit of time to actually find the Bulgarian. She was not exactly communicative after his last note and this was going to be their first true interaction after some time. Hermione ended up talking to another student of Durmstrang, one she had vaguely remembered meeting during the Yule Ball. He had been eager enough to let her know that Viktor was in the library and even commented that he never seemed to be anywhere else lately.

Upon hearing this Hermione almost felt a bit stupid and wondered why she had not thought he would be there. The both of them had already spent so much of their time together by the dusty bookshelves that there really would not have been a better place for them to reconcile.

One she entered the doors of the library her previous pace had slowed quite greatly and now her the steps she took could barely be heard unless one listened with utmost care. Within Hermione's view the only person she could immediately make out was the librarian herself but other than no one appeared. Not even Viktor. She continued past the majority of the bookshelves, her hand lingered on each one as she took a step past until she noticed him.

Hermione's breath hitched for a moment, her body frozen in place completely as she took in the sight of him. When he looked up unexpectedly it almost seemed as if the all the air in her body had been sucked away. His eyes were big, face lonely but his demeanor was inviting. The witch stepped closer to him until she was able to sit in the chair next to his. At this point she could easily make out that he placed a silencing charm on the area.

After this was done it took a moment for either to gather the courage or energy to talk. Hermione had so many questions plaguing her mind that begged for answers that she could not figure which was the most important.

"I…" Hermione had started but trailed off where she stared downward begrudgingly as if not knowing what to say was the worst thing that had ever happened to her, "I…Did I do something wrong?"

While she had been finding the rights words to say before she had blurted out the question, Viktor had scooted closer to her keen on finding out what she wished to say. When the actual words were produced, however, they had him reeling back in surprise…and disdain.

"Hermyo-knee?" Viktor had called her name and thought it was slightly off key she looked up almost immediately, "Don't ever t'ink you did somet'ing wrong, okay?"

When he had responded to her without fail, Hermione had mini-session of furious, quick blinking. She was fighting back tears because he had quelled her fear in one mere sentence.

"Oh…Oh Viktor I should have talked to you. I shouldn't have waited to so long to talk about any of this. We're supposed to be good friends aren't we and I'm not behaving as so!" Hermione had gone back to her frown, her emotional state had risen up only slightly. Viktor on the other hand had looked conflicted.

"Don't say so. I chose to wait too, so fault is mine just as equal. We're talking now t'ough and I have somet'ing to say. So please listen?" There was a shine in Viktor's eyes as he spoke as if he truly meant what he said and that he was not talking just to waste either of their time. Hermione merely nodded at him, blinking every few moments in response.

"I…do not see as good friend," Viktor slightly cringed as his wording but he would make his point even if it took him hours to do and with the way Hermione has blanched he was sure it would take that and longer, "I mean to say that I see you as more t'an t'at…you see? You are important to me Hermione and it hurt to not talk to you but I had to do it."

There was a break in speech from both Viktor's confession and sign of an attempt for Hermione to respond. Inwardly, she had blanked unsure of what she should even begin to say. Viktor had yet to continue because he knew that she was working it out in her mind and finally she did and it was exactly the opening Viktor needed to truly explain himself.

"Why did you have to do it? Were you…unsure of actually confessing or…?" Hermione was even more curious and still beyond a doubt at what he has just said, basically stating that _he liked her_.

"Sort of? All the people like to build me up as tough but stupid. I am not so much so? When I t'ink it's usually for a long while because I focus time on important t'ings. Making decision to tell you was…important."

There was a moment when Hermione vaguely began to catch on and when she had yet to speak Viktor used this moment as a chance to continue.

"I was afraid that you would not feel the same but I was more afraid of what ot'ers might do if t'ey found out. I don't want people getting angry at you…because of me? People are heartless and cruel Hermyo-knee."

A soft smile broke out on Hermione's face when he finished and for a portion of time Viktor was highly confused at her actions. It was then that she took her hands in his, very carefully and began to talk with the most serious expression.

"Viktor…I want you to listen to me very carefully okay? I think I know what you're getting at. It's because I'm not a pureblood, like you, right? Well I've learned a thing or two about that and to me it doesn't matter and I think to you it doesn't matter either. You're one of the most down to earth and earnest people I have _ever_ had the chance to meet and you're not like that at all. You know what means most? We don't have to care what others think, we just have to care _what we think._ "

Viktor's eyes seemed to widen ever so slightly, obviously having not expected her to read him so well. Then again maybe he should have expected it with the way she was so articulate and resourceful.

"I could care less what other's think because I _really like you too_. Ever since you walked through the doors of Hogwarts we've had such an odd connection, don't you think? And at first I think I wanted to figure out why but sometimes there is no book to explain the way things work. I had to learn that but now I know."

The strength that she had held his hand with was intensified at this point but not by her but by Viktor. In truth he did not think he had ever met anyone like this.

"You are very bright witch for your age Hermione. I'm lucky to have been noticed by you, I believe." There was a soft laugh by Hermione and suddenly Viktor pulled her in for a bear hug, where she had been just about squeezed out of breath. Despite this her comfort level remained the same and she welcomed the affection without scrutiny like she would have done in the past. In truth she believed this session between them had been the most successful one yet.

* * *

For the first time in quite a while Viktor considered that he was feeling irritated. It was true he had been annoyed by things in the past months but never to the extent that he was fully irritated. The second task was mere hours away and he had yet to see Hermione despite his extensive search that was only permitted after he had escaped the ever over bearing view of Karkaroff, or so he thought.

"Viktor." The voice made Viktor stop straight in his track, the lack of movement from the other party meant they knew his actions would be so. Heavy accent lined with a stench of malice the slowly speaking party. Viktor knew them before he even thought of turning around.

"Karkaroff." The elder's name rolled off his tongue like molasses, though it was heard well enough due to years of its owner branding the name deeply into his mind. Viktor eventually turned around to face the other party, one boot scraping again the cement of Hogwart's outside courtyard. The wind was furious and he could see it the way the curls on the other wizard fought with each other wildly.

"My title is headmaster, _boy_ , and you will address me as such." Karkaroff was unamused though this came as no shock to Viktor just as the way the older man's lip hung slightly low to produce a sneer was no surprise either. Truly he wanted to turn away in disgust from both the way he spoke and the way his teeth were stained with grime from years of unkempt attention. He chose to remain silent and Karkaroff appeared to care less at his choice.

"Now why are you roaming? You should be training, the task is in two hours boy!" Viktor contemplated for a moment as the two of them made eye contact. Would it be worth it to argue back that he had practiced almost non-stop for weeks now and that he knew what his plan would be. He understood how to evolve as the circumstances would change. The riddle within the golden egg had made sure of him knowing that. However, he kept his mouth shut once more.

"Get to the ship and wait for the call." The headmaster of Durmstrang waved off his student and without fail Viktor left the vicinity to do what he had been told. It was in secret that he only appeared to obey because it would rid him of Karkaroff's presence.

* * *

Three stands had been position within the middle of the Black Lake, one for each contestant plus the additional Hogwarts student. As Viktor neared his platform by use of boat he could hear the encroaching cheers from the mass of students who had been allowed to actively watch the second task take place. Of course he was used to the level of loudness and far beyond so but he was still feeling agitation from his earlier encounter with Karkaroff. Underlying he knew that he had to shake off his emotions in order to concentrate for the task and complete it accordingly. He knew that something he would sorely miss was taken but he was unsure of what exactly it was?

At last once he was on his own platform which was next to Hogwarts and opposite of Beauxbaton he began to focus his energy and preparation for the start of the task which was only minutes away now.

* * *

Hermione had been summoned early in the morning and kept in the dark until finally Dumbledore himself had gathered her and three others into his office. She noticed that Cho was already there and shortly Fleur's younger sister, Gabrielle, and Ron had entered the area with McGonagall behind them. All four were equally confused and remained so even as Dumbledore requested each party place their hand against his with a firm grasp.

"Do not pull away if you can help it. Hermione you're up first my dear." Hermione's headmaster extended his hand, palm left upwards inviting her hand to pursue. She obliged with only minor hesitation but once her hand was securely grasped to hers she could see no words being passed back and forth. It was a sudden burst of warm energy before it turned sharply against her, a stinging sensation spiking in her hand and quickly surging up her arm until it faded off near her chest. As much as she wanted to recoil backwards in shock she was able to subside her actions to a mere yelp. The other three looked at her peculiarly, Ron especially as he was worried.

"Next, Cho?" The process was repeated for the remainder though none of which appeared to show such a reaction as Hermione. In the midst of waiting for an explanation from Dumbledore, the haziness around the edge of her eyes grew along with an onsent of wooziness that was quickly vanquished with something rapid blinking.

"Now you're all very concerned and curious, the glints in your eyes tell it all. You all are going to play a part in the second task which is located _in_ the Black Lake. Specifically you have been all chosen to represent a particular participant within the cup as you signify…"

Hermione no longer heard anything as her vision was subsiding within seconds, the same haziness had taken hold of her without warning but this time it appeared to come back with a vengeance. She was out within moments and luckily Cho was able to stop her from falling onto the ground completely.

"H-Hermione? Dumbledore what's wrong with her?" Ron quickly interjected as Dumbledore appeared to trail off less apprehensive about what had just occurred. Hermione was quickly laid down on a stretcher that had just been brought in. Three more followed and the others that were still awake had become just the slightest bit more uneasy.

"To finish, you all signify what each contestant would sorely miss. Therefore they will have to rescue you from the pits of the Black Lake to show their worth. Like Miss Hermione you will all fall into a sleep-induced paralysis due to the spell I have conjured while our hands met. It is a wordless spell that should never be named aloud less you wish to remain asleep forever." He stopped momentarily to let the effect of his words sink in. This task would not actually amount to any deaths but it would have to appear so to all those involved or else they might not behave correctly.

"Once you're asleep you should feel nothing, see nothing, speak nothing, however, once reaching the surface you'll reawaken like nothing ever happened. There's nothing to fear my students. Hermione's "fainting" was merely her succumbing to the spell early on, muggle parents can affect the way the spell works. Also, I must tell you that there is an extremely small chance for you to be fully aware of what is going on while under the surface. You won't be able to physically move but mentally you'll be aware. Stay calm if this occurs."

Once Dumbledore had finished his explanations he can see the haziness begin to set in both Ron's and Cho's eyes, Gabrielle would surely follow them despite her apparent uneasiness towards the entire situation. Cho quickly moved to coax the younger Beauxbaton student into a more civil state before anything happened. There appeared to be a sense of pity that they were involving someone so much younger but the way things worked in the wizarding world was rather strenuous at times like these.

Cho squinted slightly pulling away from her comforting hold towards the other. There was a peculiar sensation or rather lack of sensation through the tips of her fingers. Numb, they felt even more numb now that her awareness was growing. The disorientation that had started at the base of her fingers only seemed to travel upwards and as she brushed her entire hand over the lower parts of her forearm she could no longer detect any sensation there either. Cho kept her cool none the less and released a sigh of frustration for the situation.

 _And one by one they all lost consciousness, the Black Lake gained four new inhabitants, and thus began the second task._

* * *

The Black Lake is known for its peculiar aquatic activity and though most of the time nothing can be seen form above the surface, everything can be seen from below.

Hermione would not know. Hermione should not know.

But she did and she learned when her eyes burst open with her pupils concentrating in a frenzy trying to look about. And that is all she has control over.

Her body REFUSED to move no matter how much her mind commanded it to. In return Hermione could break away the rope binding her body to the seafloor and for a moment this almost caused her to panic internally. Slowly but surely she realized that despite her limitations nothing detrimental had occurred though the strangeness of the situation was beginning to get to her more than anything.

For one, she knew the water of the lake was freezing during this time but she did not feel chilled to the bone or as if her toes were going to fall off from how cold it was. The water did not seem to affect the way she was able to have her eyes open. Unfortunately the biggest issue she had dealt with her entire way of survival.

Breathing.

She did not feel the need to intake oxygen and she was not even sure she could if she had to. Beyond moving and blinking her eyes there was no other way for Hermione to move or even communicate. Ultimately she had chalked it up to the spell that she was so obviously put under and later she was quite certain she would make it so that she and Dumbledore had a chat.

Within her peripheral vision she could make out the anxious flickering of movement to her left. Blonde hair and blue uniform made it painfully obvious that it was Gabrielle. It was a moment of stricken horror when Hermione realized that whatever was occurring with her was occurring with the younger student. She understood that whatever mental breakdown would have occurred with her under such circumstances could only be worse for her.

There was nothing she could do to fix the situation either and that tore her apart the most.

To her right when Hermione was able to see the clearer than before as her stiffened body floated minimally around she eyed Ron. It did not appear that he was conscious in any way or form to which Hermione surmised that the spell did not affect him in the way that it did her or Fleur's sister. Cho was never in her view point she could deduce nothing of the fellow Hogwarts student.

Stuck in this way it seemed like hours had passed for Hermione. The haunting echoes of the deep creatures of the lake had started to haunt her. They lulls would have driven her insane eventually if were not for the sudden entrance of Harry. She notices the gills on his neck and the fins protruding from his fingers and feet. Harry has entered the area with a clumsy swimming technique but she is sure he would still be faster than any human that tried to swim in the murky waters.

Harry is torn and eyes Ron, Hermione, and Cho. Ultimately though he is sure that his target is Ron or Hermione and when he finally goes to free Ron, Hermione watched as he was stuck on swimming away to first or attempting to rescue her as well. There is no sign of the other contestants and she is sure many minutes had passed at this point.

When Cedric swims with a perfected use of the bubblehead charm he easily picks out Cho from the remaining three. He and Harry both share a concerned stare about the time limit and Cedric quickly leaves for the surface. Ultimately this is still a competition and only one can come out on top. Harry still did not live up to thinking like that Hermione had thought.

The third chosen contestant to make an appearance is none other than a Viktor but at first neither are aware it is him. His transfigured shark head made sure of that. Hermione cannot flinch in fear of the sudden rush of water that is hitting her face. At first she did not recognize the swimmer as Viktor either and Hermione was sure this was her last bit of life, hundreds of teeth aimed towards her, fear consumed the internal thoughts she held. When the shark dipped towards the rope where it severed the rope after several attempts.

 _Viktor, it is Viktor._

Though she can hardly see in the darkness of the lake, she realized it was the Bulgarian by the look of his hands. They are still easily seen to be calloused in the midst of all the bubbling water. Unable to focus on this for long, Hermione fades back to an unconscious form as soon as the tug is finished and she has started to make her way back to the surface. The last thing she remembers is Harry arguing furiously with the creatures who sang her lullabies which were tempted to split her head open and a warm feeling in her gut.

* * *

With the briefing that had occurred before their actual start of the second task Viktor was under the impression that as soon as they hit the surface their specific person would rise back from their unconsciousness.

Viktor had hit the surface which gave way to the transformation back to his true face, the surface gave way to his place in third, and the surface gave way to an unawakened Hermione. He is treading the water as best he can with the fact that his energy level is far below gone and the commotion around him caused his senses to almost overload. He saw Cho out of the corner of his eye being helped onto the dock for the Hogwarts' students and she is awake and well from the looks of it though startled understandably. While Viktor treaded closer to his own dock he has a devastating thought run through his mind.

 _Hermione was still limp. She had not moved at all._

When he gets pulled onto the deck, only after he is assured that Hermione is taken first, Viktor is caught spouting carelessly in his native tongue. Upset to why Hermione has not woken, upset to why she is so still, as to why she is so pale. There was something about the way she was so solemn looking that practically set him off then and there.

It feels like minutes have passed when Harry surfaced both with Ron and Fleur's sister. He knows it is a commendable feat, very noble, but Viktor is too distracted to be proud of the person he now knew as a friend.

Now both Karkaroff and Dumbledore are present and alert to figure out why Hermione has yet to awaken, though truly the latter is more concerned about the person involved than the former. Viktor knew that his headmaster was simply present and worried about how this even may affect his score negatively. This notion was something that Viktor could let slide.

"T'is better not affect score, dead hostage better not affect your damned score boy." At first Viktor is unsure if he was meant to hear what Karkaroff spoke. He could see quite a few of his fellow students around eyes' widen at what was mentioned. Though it was not spoken in English almost all the students were Bilingual. Viktor, however, could not let this slide.

"What did you say? What did you say!?" Viktor was livid the moment the words were spoken, his head whipped upward from his attention to Hermione, eyes wide but brows still edged downward in pure emotion.

There is almost a full pause for everyone around. Even Dumbledore was startled by the feral snarl that had accompanied Viktor's shouts. None are sure if he was even familiar with the language but it is obvious that he knows something unpleasant was spoken. It is a fact that is rare for Viktor to be truly angry, and only a handful of students present could even count on one hand that something like this had ever happened.

"She is not dead! She is not! Keep your mouth shut Karkaroff!" The first time he was shouted at Karkaroff was filled with disbelief but the second time it was quickly replaced with displeasure as he moved forth towards Viktor where he planned to pull rank.

"You shut your mouth boy. I am your mentor not the other way around. This girl is nothing, you hear me? Nothing but a mudblood! Remember your place" In the pits of Karkaroff's eyes there is a devious glint that Viktor absolutely detested to look at and therefore he is forced to look away when Hermione has regained his attention. She coughed continuously until her full breath was gained as Viktor's was taken away at the sight.

Dumbledore slowly urged Hermione to sit up and once she completed the request he left her side to leave with Karkaroff per his own request. Viktor is pleased to see the absence of his headmaster's presence and neared Hermione's side almost immediately after that.

"Are you okay Hermyo-knee?" The sense of longing concern in Viktor's eyes was ever present which made Hermione smile softly despite the circumstances. Hermione has pulled the blanket she was given minutes earlier around her tighter but relinquishes a hand to place over his arm.

"I'm fine…I think? I'm more confused than anything though. I…I didn't get to hear the full explanation on anything. Would you be able to fill me in?" Hermione felt blindsided more than anything about everything that appeared to happen. If there was anything she hated most it was being left in the dark without explanation.

"Of course but after everyt'ing calms? We can meet later to talk, yes?" Viktor has no issue with agreeing with her request but he knew that now was not appropriate with all the disorder in the air.

"Hermione! Hermione are you okay? You're not hurt right?" The familiar voice belonging to Ron appeared closer with every word and it is evident that Harry is trailing behind to meet with her.

Hermione, as calmly as possible, explained that she was fine, did not feel that off, and simply made the excuse that she needed rest. With that said all three agreed and they set off to find transportation back to the grounds of Hogwarts' Castle.

* * *

Hours later both Hermione and Viktor sat on a bench near an overlook of the Black Lake. Each had changed their clothes appropriately and had taken necessary precautions to avoid interactions with anyone else. The space between them on the bench was practically nonexistent and was even more so evident when Hermione leaned her head onto Viktor's arm.

"I'm tired." Hermione huffed in almost a child-like manner but it humored Viktor more than anything. The water appeared furious as the current had picked up with the sudden invitation of the day's wind, dark water crashed against itself without fail. Secretly Viktor chose to think it was because of their invasion that had happened mere hours earlier.

"You are but you also said t'at you could not wait for explanation." Viktor folded his arms as he spoke but was careful not to disrupt Hermione as much as possible. There was a sense of calmness about him when she was around. His anger from earlier with Karkaroff was nonexistent at this point, at least for the time being. He would certainly have to account for it later.

"T'ey told us our task was to rescue chosen student," Viktor spoke straightforwardly when Hermione did not respond with other than a tired yawn, "Someone that we'd sorely miss."

This particular phrase caught Hermione's attention as it was far familiar than it should have been. Techinically she was not supposed to help Harry with the tasks but that rule had gone out the window from the get go. Harry techinically figured out what the egg meant to say without _her_ help but when expressed to her what it said she was thrown off. Now it made far more sense.

"You'd miss me?" Hermione merely giggled softly and let a calm smile take over. There was nothing else for her to say yet.

"Seem to t'ink so but t'ey are very correct…When t'ey told us that and I had not seen you all day t'ere was gut feel you'd be down t'ere in the dept's." Viktor seemed to fiddle with his thoughts of what to say next and in response Hermione nudged him kindly in order to urge him to continue.

"When you woke I was…mad but not at you. It is…not normal for me to be angry at t'ings like that? You did not wake up and Karkaroff said t'ings. T'ings I did not agree wit. Forgive me please." Viktor looked down at Hermione though she was not looking back. Her concentration was focused on the crashing water. At first he was not sure if she had even heard but when she began to speak he settled down.

"I don't think I have any other choice to forgive you? It wasn't your fault anyway and I know that you don't want to discuss Karkaroff, at least for now, but there is definitely something on your mind Viktor. Please share it with me?"

"You read me well," Viktor almost would have chuckled if he was not so focused on his thoughts and how well should could read them, "I…have not met anyone like you. I have not felt this way about anyone, ever. I…would like to court you Hermione."

Hermione knew she was younger than Viktor but she knew that she was smart. She knew that she could make a decision for herself especially with the way the world was both in and out of the wizarding world. She was younger now but she would be older. This was her decision. This was her start. This was her origin of love as was his.

"Hmm, alright but that doesn't mean I'm going to start riding brooms, okay?"

"Alright Hermione."

And they shared a short laugh as she nestled herself in his embrace and yawned once more. Viktor felt best to stay where they were now in such peace. Later he would take her in but for now they were good. Things were good.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next will be begin being planned soon!


	9. Entropy

**Word Count:** 4,812

 **A/N:** _Okay, a few things_. _**THANK YOU ALL**_ for the support on this story so far! Over 50 reviews, 11,000 views, and over 150 alerts! I never thought I'd have a story this active and popular for my FF account. I appreciate y'all hanging around through the inactive period and I'd give you all a cake for that if I could! You all give me the passion to write what I like!

I've been dealing with some irl situations including stalking and dealing with that has taken my time for writing up until the last few days. I am only now getting back into my routine and appreciate understanding for no updates on that regard!

 **PaC Anon,** DO US BOTH A FAVOR and stop reading my story. I really wanted to follow what you were saying but your reviews aren't making much sense and they are hindering my drive to write, so it'd be much appreciative if you either tried to be more constructive(and appropriate) with the criticism or stopped writing the reviews period. Thanks very much!

 _ **You guys enjoy this chapter as though it's short, there is quite a bit that happens!**_

* * *

 _Chapter viiii – Entropy_

 _when you sweat and bleed and cry for one person, one thing, one instance…that is that unpredictability of the human condition_

* * *

Lunch was currently being held in the great hall. It bustled like usual with chatter and noise from many students of the school and of those who visited. Ginny and Ron, who had only sat down moments ago, were left confused upon seeing Hermione's look of anger that grew by the minute. Hermione was seated to herself with Harry, Neville, and now Ron who chose to sat across from the familiar friend. Ginny had plopped herself quite eagerly into the open space next to Hermione with more than just a questioning stare.

"Care to explain?" The sole Weasley daughter looked expectantly at both Harry and Neville, her eyes flicked up and down as if to tell them they better fess up. Harry merely shrugged with an oversized bite of toast in his mouth while Neville frowned and shook his head. Neither knew a thing…as usual. Hermione had not seemed to appear to have heard Ginny's question but unknowingly chose to start on a rampage about the subject of her rage filled, enthralled look of the paper she had just read.

"I _absolutely_ cannot believe they would spout such…such lies! As If I'd ever be capable of such, that Rita Skeeter is trying to paint me as some heathen." Hermione's emotion of anger, while still notably apparent, had melted into that of a frown and an off-beat sigh.

"What'd that woman say now?" Ron, earnestly interested, in what that snoop of a witch could have made up at this point. He knew she often wrote vicious lies and expected this to be no different of a situation.

The Gryffindor's thoughts were unexpectedly interrupted by a slightly-familiar Bulgarian who had chosen to nonchalantly take the unfilled seat right on the other side of Hermione. This action practically caused him to have bug eyes when Hermione did not even appear to have batted an eye at the somewhat personal action. Hermione handed over the paper to Harry and Neville since she had been long done with it and Ginny had skimmed enough through the main article for her liking.

"It's just that her article, frankly, seems to revolve too much around myself, Viktor, and Harry." Hermione started with a soft sigh while she glanced to the right of her where Viktor had taken a seat. Though she did not verbally acknowledge him, their eye contact was more than enough for the time being in this case. Ginnny caught on to this behavior rather quickly and did not press the issue but that did not mean she would not question any of it later to her friend.

"She's gushing about a love triangle revolving around the three of us…which is funny considering I never knew I was 'heartlessly toying with their hearts' as she so _kindly_ put it! I don't even know where she's getting half this information considering the only truth in it took place while it was just Viktor and I."

There was a loud cough that came from Ron to which he received a rather odd set of looks that quickly took attention elsewhere.

"Just you and Viktor? Mind being a bit more specific 'Mione?" Ron edged in his question rather perturbed, suddenly he did not think he was going to like where the conversation was headed.

"Oh it was after the second task. We were just talking about a few things…just read the damned article if you want to know so bad!" Being that it was quite easy to tell Hermione was on edge, Viktor let his hand rest on her shoulder.

"Yeah just us, and t'at stupid bug that wouldn't go 'way. Is fine Hermyknee, we know truth." Viktor's joke and broken dialect, albeit being better than it was when they first met, mildly comforted Hermione and she seemed at peace for the moment until it was evident that the cogs in her brain had turned. The look of realization on her face hit almost instantly and she rose from her seat almost as quickly.

"Viktor, you're an absolute genius!" Just like that Hermione was off in her own thoughts, though they were evidently more important than any of them truly realized for now. Hermione fled the scene after placing an uncharacteristically quick peck on Viktor's cheek before she practically flew down and out the hall leaving the entire group bewildered. Her questionable action towards the seeker was not entirely unnoticed at this point either. All Viktor was left with to cover the situation was a cheek that tingled, four pairs of eyes dead set on his face, and Hermione's forgotten half-eaten sandwich at this point.

Neither Hermione nor Viktor had really understood the true nature of where their relationship lied. How both very personal and detailed it was at this point. True they were technically a couple at this point but how would anyone have found that out in two days' time, especially when neither had informed anyone of this turn of events.

Both Harry and Ron, though the latter even more, are a bit slack jawed and Ginny is merely shaking her head in disappointment. Luckily Neville was too bashful to make words out of what he witness and no one else from outside their minor group had noticed the encounter between the two students from different schools.

"Will see you all later, yes?" Viktor let out a rough cough and did his best to casually slide out of the conversation that Hermione had now thrown him into but it was more awkward than he would have liked. He would definitely have to talk with Hermione on what their etiquette was when in public.

Did they want to be a known couple? Or did they want to keep it secret?

* * *

Hours later and Viktor had returned to the Durmstrang ship when his presence was called to Karkaroff's personal cabin. The high hopes and spirit that had lingered around Viktor had come to a slow stop then died almost instantly when he heard his headmaster's name. Nothing good would come from this meeting if certain words were said. Deep down Viktor knew that his school's leader had slowly become unraveled, slowly become paranoid, and slowly become someone that was not fit for his position. The other students would no doubt notice soon if they had not already begun to.

But why? That was the question that Viktor had internalized for many weeks now with answer that forever seemed to elude his mind's grasp. Perhaps soon he would be able to reach a conscious decision of the true reason behind Karkaroff's façade of control and decency. For now he had to maintain his focus on the tournament, his sanity, and Hermione. Within a matter of moments and several steps across creaking wood planks he entered into his headmaster's office. True to his foreboding thoughts the look on Karkaroff's face was not that of a kind one.

"You." Karkaroff began with one simple word, though it was obvious their conversation would not be in English. There was an edge in his voice as Viktor neared.

"You called for me headmaster?" Viktor's tone was nothing short of a polite and thin tone. No emotion, it was how the elder man preferred his students to respond. Karkaroff almost had a snide look in his face, as if he wanted to enact some sort of punishment but did not.

"I'm disappointed with you. I think you know why, you should." Karkaroff folded his arms together as his eyebrows creased downwards, which also produced heavier wrinkles on the older man's forehead. Viktor felt as if he should not respond and merely shook his head in response, this action retaining no retaliation at first.

"You...You don't!? Are you playing dumb with me boy? Do you think this is a game to our school? To me!?" More anger, more wrinkles, more agitation between both parties began as Viktor finally chose what he felt was an appropriate response in the midst of his disgust.

"I think it's very serious to me but I have absolutely no clue what I have done to be a disappointment." Viktors hands remained clasped behind his back, this was the appropriate behavior when being addressed by their headmaster and so far he was doing a fair job at having his posture kept corrected.

"Do you not think it inappropriate to be fraternizing with that Hogwarts student? You growing affection for this…muggle is ridiculous, so much that it's affected your participation in the tournament. You played second, _second_ not first in the second task. Now you know I don't care if you need lay or an outlet but you're letting yourself become enthralled by other pursuits." Karkaroff exhaled when he finished speaking, the deafened silence in the room made him think his point had be solidified against the other. Viktor would not have been so agreeable to this point had he known it was what the headmaster thought at the moment.

"My relations with _any_ student have not hindered or helped my progress in any way. It is on myself on how I do in my tasks, you know this was my goal from the start, to prove that I could complete the tournament with as little help as possible. How could you dare say she would hinder my abilities? _How dare you bring her into this!"_ Viktor's jaw was clenched at this point and his arms were at his side accompanied with balled up fists. His anger was far too visible but once he started to lose it he was on the lesser side of having cared.

" _How dare you argue back with your superior?_ I could end your little visits with her, could halt your contact to anyone outside of this ship. I could have your every move watched that you'd never know when you were truly alone. _I could end your pathetic excuse for career before it would ever start again_." Karkaroff countered angrily, his attempts to rope in Viktor had become more and more outrageous. His student was quiet at this point, eyes cast down to the wooden floor. He had no doubt the much younger wizard would rather trace the swirl outlines cast into the oak than be talked to in such a manner that Karkaroff had chosen to produce.

When Viktor's head rose with eerie ease which allowed him to maintain eye contact with the other, almost too calm for comfort that Karkaroff almost appeared thrown off from the situation. Viktor had already begun retreating from the enclosed room but the words he spoke were as clear and loud as needed, no hint of weakness was ever shown.

" _Don't do something stupid Headmaster."_

* * *

In the dead of night three days later when the halls of Hogwarts were silent and at peace Hermione sat upwards in her bed in a heave that left her breathless and in a cold sweat. To proclaim this was the first night she experienced the night terror it would be a bold faced lie. The incident in question had started the same night as the second task but every night there was the same dream, the same disaster that happened as each night before.

The first night in occurrence caused her to wake up in a start, her eyes wide with doubt that the reality she was now in was true to be. This night was no different as she was whisked away into thoughts about her nightmare from before.

* * *

 _In the back of her mind she was still within the realm of her nightmare, still within the realm of water and merfolk and darkness. The moments following she was met with worry by Ginny who was simply laid a comforting hand on her back and followed suit by soothing her with back rub._

 _The circular motions did little for Hermione at first. She simply sat there with her hands gripping the upper sides of her arms, mouth mute and eyes shut tightly. When the fourth year finally did come into a sense of calmness and realism, she looked at her roommate with a frown for moment before her eyes shied away in a way that replicated something akin to being ashamed._

" _Do you want to talk about it Hermione?" Ginny's voice was soft and at peace unlike the voices of those in Hermione's nightmare. They were garbled and scratchy accompanied by a devilish hiss with each word spoken. Their voices were anything but kind or caring._

" _I dreamed about the lake," While true Hermione's voice lingered lighter the further her sentence went on, "And it was during the second task. Viktor never made it in time. He…never made it at all."_

 _Ginny's frown deepened as she sat on Hermione's bed, the sheets wrinkled as she leaned into her leg. Hermione had talked briefly on what had happened to her in the second task, how she had been coherent to an extent while underwater and how her anxiety level had skyrocketed for the duration of her experience. It seemed now that there was still an aftermath for Hermione even after everything was said and done. Ginny wondered just how far it had affected Hermione._

" _I dreamt that I drowned."_

* * *

The first dream Hermione had went exactly like her time in the Black Lake excluding the part where Viktor showed and she reached the surface. This time seemed to prove otherwise as Hermione recalled that Viktor did show up, without his shark head, he was unable to secure her freedom and instead had to watch her death.

Shaken up particularly as she recalled quite clearly but uneasily the sensation of staring into his darkly lit eyes as she gasped for a breath and then a second until she was choking on what felt like imaginary water. The sensation had started as a faint, unaware tickle in the back of her throat that slowly crept up behind her until she gasped with hands that clawed at her throat. She could feel the lack of air that slowly overcame her, a thick ache deep in her chest that grew by the moment until she could no longer handle it.

The final moments in Hermione's dream were clear in her memories but hazy in the nightmare. An out of body experience it felt like as Hermione viewed her own body floating in the water. The red lines etched on her neck by hands that had now floated aimlessly around her body. Lifeless eyes that stared straight back at her and then she was back.

Back to the real world.

Having sat in recollection for the past few minutes, Hermione only then took a moment to look around the room. Ginny was still tucked under her covers soundly asleep with no idea of what had just happened. Hermione made sure she would never at this point per the silencing charm she had placed that very night before she fell asleep.

Hermione's hands grasped at the dark maroon covers for a moment before she reluctantly laid back, the back of her head pressed against the pillow. When morning came she could only hope to remember a spell to rid herself of the dark circles that were beginning to present themselves under her eyes and be thankful there was no class on Sundays.

* * *

Only a week has passed and the invasion against Hermione's sleep had yet to stop itself. The young Griffyndor had resorted to research better magic on covering up areas. She had not told another soul aside from Ginny about what was happening and even then had not revealed to the only Weasley girl their extent on which it affected her. Sooner or later the stress would get to her.

Being prone to a snappy attitude as well did not help her case as she had already let loose on Harry and once and Ron twice for, in her mind, the silliest of things. Add up the guilt she faced from such atrocious actions, the weight of the dreams, and her unwillingness to spare anyone any details Hermione felt it would not be soon before she fully lost it.

Viktor had not been blind to the change in Hermione's personality and way she carried herself. He watched as each day she became just a little bit more tired, a little bit more spaced out, a little bit more _not herself._ The transition had unnerved him and any time he would prod or question her she would shrug him off with the smallest of smiles.

Things had finally set themselves in motion when he found himself on a walk along the beach by himself. It was Sunday and though the students had no classes, the majority of the students did not quite feel like the weather was worth going out yet. Viktor, however, had no qualms and enjoyed the solitude for the time being. Until Ron showed up. With an attitude.

"Oi, Krum." The owner of the voice caught Viktor off guard and when he turned around he could see said person had almost reached him. There was a peculiar look on his face that caught him off guard.

"Weasley. You need something?" The Bulgarian was quite unsure of Ron's purpose as they had not shared many words since the Yule Ball, which even then were few and far in between. Truth be told, Viktor had a particularly off taste in his mouth when thought of Hermione friend. He had been present on more than one occasion of them arguing and he did not like it a single bit. So why would the Weasley seek out Viktor himself?

"Yeah." While the response was somewhat expected, it was too short and caught off. A resounding thud rung into the air and Viktor's feel scraped against the dirt too quickly which caused him to fall to the ground. Ron recoiled with a sharp hiss, cradling a balled fist in his other hand which barely began to take on a red tint around his knuckles. Still he progressed forward as if to take advantage of the situation with Viktor taken off guard.

"What is problem!?" Viktor was able to dodge the blow of a second punch to the face when he grabbed Ron's fist this time. With Ron's rashness, he once again yelped in pain. He had not expected Viktor's face to be as muscled as his arms and therefore the outside of his hand stung when grabbed. Regardless he tried to grab at Viktor with his free hand and when Viktor would not cooperate he fell in to the position of straddling him. Uncovered dirt flew around their faces making Viktor squint for a moment.

"You're my problem! You've done something to Hermione and I demand to know what!" While Viktor had been agitated, borderline angry from the unplanned hit his grip had gone slack at the accusation. His mind whirled a mile a minute at each though for what could have cause this sort of attention and in the end it chose to be centered on Hermione.

This gap in physical response left Ron a chance to land another hit on his already bruising cheek. The stinging pain and loud smack knocked him from his thoughts. In return he used his greater strength to gain the upper hand and pin Ron under him instead. He was going to control the situation no matter what it took.

"I hav' done no such t'ing Weasley! Explain self now." Viktor's grip on Ron's wrist did not lessen at this point.

"Let go of me Krum!" Ron still struggled furiously, unwilling to commit to further conversation just yet. Viktor was getting even more annoyed by the minute and he felt it a reflex when he smacked Ron's face abruptly. Almost instantly he recoiled after the action took place. The slight hint of guilt deepened when Ron did not respond. Though in the back of his mind a lingering thought continued to stay; why should he feel bad for having slapped the boy when he had punched him not once but twice.

Ron's breath was hard and ragged from the scuffle. It was easy to see on his face that a multitude of emotions were processing and that the fact that Ron let them get the better of him and stick him in such a situation was beginning to set in. Slowly he sat up with his less injured hand wiping under his nose as he inhaled. Viktor was close by in front of im but on his knees, shoes only slightly propping himself up from the grass and dirt below, which both were covered in at this point.

"I..I don't even know what got into me.." Ron backpedaled himself from the situation, unsure of what Viktor would do to him at this point. His hand was positioned over his forehead, face cast downward in shame. Viktor could clearly see the regret in his eyes.

"Just…explain…okay? What you refer to wit'…Hermyknee?" Viktor's own method to gather enough breath was slow to work as he sluggishly put out his request verbally. Ron looked upwards, the reality that Viktor had not even known what was going on with Hermione had finally set in.

"You don't even know what I'm talking about do you? How could I be so stupid." Ron sighed, his head shook disappointedly. This caused Viktor to crawl towards him with a deep frown.

"No, No. Somet'ing up with Hermyknee, yes? She acting different now, I can see very much so." Ron's eyes widened as Viktor spoke. So he too had noticed the change within their mutual friend. Ron was so sure it had been Viktor to cause the trouble within Hermione's self, after all nothing had changed until their experience with the second task.

"Well its just…I…I thought you had done something to her! She hadn't even started acting weird until the second task and when I read in Skeeter's article about you asking her to Bulgaria and it being true I thought it had to have involved you somehow. I didn't think it through enough did I…I just feel like Hermiones been distancing herself from me…and Harry even since she found you." Once Ron was able to find his words it was like a waterfall of words had come through and his entire set of troubles laid itself out in the open for Viktor to dissect.

"I just thought that Hermione and I were finally on good terms since my stupid mouth at the ball but now she's all mixed up again." Viktor mulled over the words Ron spoke with great interest. A lot of the Weasley's actions made sense now. He had been insecure and jealous about his own spot to Hermione. Suddenly he had felt a little bit of sadness rising within him as he had been part of the problem between the two. However, Viktor did not feel it appropriately to place the sole blame on himself as it was ultimately up to the two of them to fix their problems with each other.

"Am sorry for lot of trouble caused but I cannot help arguments between two of you. T'at for you to figure out, yes? But to tell truth, you must tell truth. I hav' learned talking is only way, ot'erwise t'ings go very, very bad." Viktor frowned, hoping that there was some solution to this whole mess of a situation. In some ways he felt like the friction between him and Ron had dissolved but an entirely different situation with Hermione had arisen, one that involved more than just him.

"I see. Can I tell you something? I had always admired you as a quidditch player, probably a little more than I should've," Ron paused to chuckle because now was more than right time to be truthful, "And then you come in and practically steal Hermione right from under Harry and I…and I was a total idiot. I could've avoided all of this by just not over reacting. You're pretty cool for a famous person."

"Am not that famous, but will take compliment happily, my friend." Viktor could not help but chuckled, even despite the worsening ache in the right side of his face. It was like that for some people though, they could have all the issues in the world with one another but once a common ground was found it was much easier to devolve the situation into that of a non-dramatic one. Just like that they both felt it much easier to breathe, a weight lifted from their shoulders that they had not known was there.

"Ron? Viktor!" Two sets of eyes darted in shock towards the voice's direction and immediately they felt far worse than before. There was Hermione looking particularly upset as she ran towards them. When she had stopped right before them where they lay with rosy faces and messy clothes she could easily put two and two together.

"You two…fought? You two fought didn't you! I cannot believe you'd act so stupidly, both of you!" Hermione argued forth towards them with little hesitation, her hands clenched at her side in despair. Viktor started to get up with Ron who followed suit a moment late, a frown on both their faces.

"Hermyknee wa-" Viktor attempted to apologize and nullify what Hermione thoughts of what had possibly happened. His attempt to reach for her was rejected harshly as she flinched away.

"No. No…I don't want to hear it. Of all things that could have happened, you hit one another? You two _are not_ enemies so why do you act like it?" Hermione's voice cracked as she talked. The last thing she expected was for either of them to act on impulse and have a physical confrontation. Everything so far had been through verbal altercations and while she knew that was not acceptable either she never believed it would escalate this far. With her thoughts jumbled beyond repair, Hermione turned to leave the area with a shocked Ginny having just entered the scene.

" _Hermione wait._ " Ron spoke loudly, certainly loud enough for his best friend to hear. In spite of everything she stopped, despite the obvious hesitation to, she stopped. When Hermione turned around, a sliver of a tear caught in her eye ready to fall, her lips being bit while everything happened so fast.

"It's my fault, okay? I was the one to act like an idiot, I was the one to say such stupid things, and I was the one to hit Krum first. And you know what? It did feel good, because I thought I was doing the right thing. And we talked, and I learned a lot. I need to apologize to you Hermione." Ron walked closer to Hermione, Viktor stepped aside to allow him an easier path towards the saddened witch.

"Ron..?" There was a short, barely audible laugh from Hermione when Ron was close enough, "What on Earth has gotten into you to say something so smart?"

Both of the boys were able to crack a smile at that, the tension in the situation was at least being diffused a little bit. While they still had a long way to go with alleviating the situation this was a grand start.

"I'm sorry Hermione for acting like an idiot to you and to Viktor. Please forgive me for now?" Ron was shocked when Hermione had decided to hug him out of the blue. He could feel nod against his chest. Quickly though she had stood back.

"I suppose I can, we've got a lot to talk about though.. Let's go inside for now? Please?"

"We do, don't we? Let's go, last one there is a salted newt!" Ron jogged forward with Ginny trailing behind, Hermione and Viktor barely a step behind as well. When the slowed Ron shoved his hands in his pocket. Viktor had dared to take Hermione's hand in his and surprisingly she had accepted, the long walk back to the school's building began to seem all the better.

"Oh and please don't fight anymore?" Hermione half-joked towards them but they all knew deep down the other half was dead serious.

"Of course Hermyknee, but only if promise to let me make up t'is to you, yes?" Viktor had a bare smile on his face to accompany a nose more crooked than ever. Hermione had not said a word but she had nodded positively towards him.

For now they had partially resolved one issue but deep down in the pits of Viktor's mind he still needed to know what had happened to Hermione. Why she was the way she was. It had become so obvious to him now, in the way she did not put up as much of an argument and the wat her walk was the slightest bit slower. It was imperative that he figure the problem out and solve it.

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I have two goals in mind while writing this story, hit the 50k mark(WHICH WE ACCOMPLISHED IN THIS CHAPTER!) and complete the story. So let's make it happen!


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